Genuine Liars
by AsheLyne
Summary: "It takes one to know one." Killua Zoldyck may have been a liar, but I couldn't judge him. We had been liars from the start. The relationship that was built was made with pretty lies- fake truths to cover up our worst selves. It shouldn't have been surprising to see it come crashing down. It shouldn't have, but it was. The remains weren't forgiving. [Killua x OC]
1. Sugary Warning

**Title: Genuine Liars  
Author: Ashelyne  
Rated: T for violence and swearing in later chapters  
Pairing: Killua Zoldyck x OC  
**

* * *

**g-e-n-u-i-n-e**

**l-i-a-r-s**

_1: Sugary Warning  
_

* * *

"Thanks for coming! Please come again!"

The young girl gave a bright smile as I handed her mother the bags of candy. Three bags filled to the brim with rosy pink cotton candy and white chocolate bars. Immediately, the girl reached for the bag and began devouring the pink substance, the mother trying to usher her daughter out of the store. The girl obviously came from a rich family and would probably remain spoiled for the rest of her childhood.

The door fell closed behind them, instantly shrouding the rest of the shop in silence. It was 7pm on the dot, leaving only an hour of work before closing. Most people tended not to come in the candy shop later than 6, so I could probably spend this last hour catching up on one of my books.

Pulling the ancient text from under the counter, I opened to where I last left off, pulling my Hunter License out from under the pages. This piece of plastic meant both the world and nothing to me. It was valuable yet useless. But I knew that losing this piece of plastic would lose me more than I could ever regain.

Which is exactly why I used it as a bookmark. It wasn't something people would expect. If i was being interrogated, or if I was threatened to fork it over, I could feign innocence. Nobody would check a book for it.

I skimmed over the previous paragraphs, remembering what I last read. I was just starting where I left off when the door opened.

A teenage boy, white stick prodding out of his mouth, casually glanced around the store. Keeping his hands in his pockets, he observed the contents of various jars, eyeing the chocolate bars in a way that made me uncomfortable.

Then he did something strange. He took a handful of the chocolate bars and began peeling the wrappers back, the color of cocoa peeking out. Then he took a bite. What.

"You know, you're supposed to pay for the things you use," I commented, returning my gaze to the book.

The boy removed the stick from his mouth, glancing around the area again. The lollipop stick was in one hand, the handful of chocolate bars in the other.

"There's a trashcan behind you."

The boy nodded, turning on his heel to dispose of the stick. Then he turned back around to face me, eyebrows raised ever so slightly. He began walking closer, and I counted the number of bars he had taken. Three.

"Three chocolate bars will be 375 Jenny." I stared up at the boy through my lashes, but he didn't make a move.

His hair was white, almost silver looking. He was pale, so his emerald eyes stood out against the rest of him. He wore a simple black vest, arms exposed. Muscular but lean. He was skinny, but he was toned at the same time. "Four chocolate bars."

I must've looked confused. He repeated it. "I bought four chocolate bars. Isn't that 500 Jenny?"

"I-" As if to prove his point, he dug out the fourth bar from his pocket. Whistling, he placed all four onto the countertop as he fished for change in his pocket.

I stared at him for a few seconds, unsure of what to make of this arrangement. "Right. 500 Jenny, my apologies."

He stared back, head tilting to the side. "...How do you have a Hunter License? Did you steal it? No, I doubt that you could've competed a feat like that…"

What.

Teeth clenched together in an attempt to hide my acute anger, I deposited the Jenny and handed him the bag. Just ignore him. He probably doesn't know what he's saying.

"Can you see?"

I stared at him like he was dumb. Was this a trick question? "Well, I'm not blind," I stated.

He nodded inwardly. "That confirms it." What. What was he even saying…?

Taking a shaky breath, I gave a smile and recited the line I was to say after every purchase. "Thanks for coming! Please come again!"

* * *

That night, I held my Hunter License between two fingers up to the light. Huh. This plastic had the power to do a lot, didn't it?

I lowered my hand, closing my eyes. The Hunter Exam wasn't as grueling difficult as I thought it would be, but saying it was easy would be a lie. I first entered when I was 15, yet failed for inexperience. At 16, I failed during the second to last phase because of a stupid mistake of overestimating my opponent. Then last month, I was 17 and reentered, determined to win. There, I met Nuly, a really, really kind girl a year younger than me. We met in the first stage in which the applicants were told to solve a puzzle. It was a string of riddles, and with Nuly's help, we both passed the first phase.

I reopened my eyes, feeling a gnawing in my heart. Nuly was so kind.

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG

The noise bounced off my ears as I jolted up, hurrying to find my phone. Ugh, the ringing always scared the crap out of me, but the phone itself was decent. Nearing the source of the sound, I hastily answered after retrieving it.

"Hello?"

Shuffling on the other end. "Era! Era, how are you holding up? How's your job going? What's it like in Yorknew!?"

The slightest smile found its way onto my lips. "Nice to talk to you again, too, Nuly." I shifted the phone from one shoulder to the other, stifling a yawn. It was getting late. "But thanks. I'm doing fine. I had a really weird experience at my job today, though."

"Ooooh, really?" she cooed, eliciting a giggle. "What happened? Was he hot?"

"What? How do you know it involves a guy?" I asked, confused by her last question.

"Does it not?"

"..."

"It does! I knew it!" Nuly's laugh resounded over the phone. We had known each other for just over a month, yet talking to her seemed natural. We weren't best friends, but we were closer than acquaintances. She seemed to always have the most exciting stories babbling on about her array of colorful uncles. Literally.

I laughed on my end. "Well, it does, but not in the way you'd think." I recalled the memory, trying to figure what to make of it. "This guy… it's like he, oh, I dunno. He was acting weird. I think he was mocking me. He asked if I could see."

"Huh." Nuly probably pondered the scenario. "Well, I wouldn't make too much of it. There are a lot of weirdos stalking around Yorknew! Be careful and stay wary of men with white trucks!"

She caused a laugh to escape my lips again. "Right, right." I left the part out about his comment on my Hunter License since I was unsure how she would react.

We chatted quietly for the next few minutes before she announced that she was heading to sleep. We said our farewells, and with that, I hung up, dropping the phone onto the spot next to me.

Nuly didn't pass the Hunter Exam. She was supposed to, but then I ended up passing instead.

If she heard me beating myself up about it again, she would get angry. She would say that I was worrying about nothing, and that she didn't pass because she wasn't qualified to. Sure, she wasn't the strongest applicant there, but she was definitely one of the smartest.

Take deep breaths. I calmed myself, waiting for the night to lull me to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, I changed into my uniform. It was a simple light pink button up shirt, white polka dots striping around my waist. The text 'CANDY SHOPPE' was written across my chest in bubbly blue letters. Unique.

Sighing, I pulled my hair back into the mandatory ponytail as I walked to the store. We were low on workers, so my hours were always weird. I didn't usually work in the mornings, but today was an exception.

The first customer didn't appear until an hour in. It was a feeble boy, circular glasses touching the rim of his nose. He looked over the merchandise before picking out a bouquet of suckers.

Sigh. This was going to be a long shift.

…

Munching on a cookie that tasted, looked, and smelled like it was processed with every chemical known to man, I tried to swallow down the sugary taste. Ugh, everything in this store was sweet and sugary. Sweets weren't my favorite. This job wasn't even my favorite.

"Yo."

I glanced up, slightly shocked to see the same weird boy from last night. His hair was even messier than last night, eyes having the slightest mischievous twinkle.

I nodded towards him, watching as he bent down and grabbed four chocolate bars. Instead of peeling the wrappers back, he merely shoved them onto the table and took out his wallet.

"So, 500 Jenny, right?"

"Right."

He slid his change onto the counter. I counted it up, depositing the amount into the cash register before placing his merchandise into the bag.

"Are you new here?" he asked, staring at me hard with a blank expression. "I come to this store a lot, but I've only seen you twice."

Oh. He probably usually only comes in the morning. "Molley usually takes the morning shifts. I take the evening shifts. Other than that, I've been working here for about a month." I slid the bag towards him, not feeling obligated to lie.

He peered inside before pulling the bag over his waist. "Right, makes sense." He stared at me for a few more seconds before his eyes flittered away. "You just finished the Hunter Exam then, didn't you?"

I stared at him, mouth agape. Sure, he saw my License last night, but did I look like an amateur? Yeah, maybe it was February and the Hunter Exam happened every January, but I still could've been a professional.

"It's simple, really," he explained, slowly peeling back one of the wrappers. "It's obvious that you're a new hunter. That, or just really inexperienced. I mean, what hunter works at a candy shop? Era, is it?" His eyes lifted from my nametag to meet my eyes.

Was he… mocking me again? Before I could respond, the door was pushed open. A new boy stood there, finger pointing at the white haired boy in front of me.

"Killua! I found you!"

White haired boy- presumably this Killua- turned around, slightly surprised to see the new boy. "Oh, that was quick."

What.

* * *

**Author's Note: First HxH fanfiction! Hope this works out. I haven't wrote fanfiction for a few years. I apologize about the short length of this chapter, but chapters will be longer in the future!**


	2. Acidic Introductions

**g-e-n-u-i-n-e**

**l-i-a-r-s**

_2: Acidic Introductions_

* * *

"So, explain to me why a beginner Hunter like yourself is working at a freaking candy shop instead of being out on actual missions?"

I eyed Killua for a few seconds before returning to hover over my book. I wasn't actually reading it (since talking & reading was multitasking, and I couldn't multitask), but it made me seem more disinterested than I was.

Killua was in a class of his own. I've known him for a measly three days, and I've come to a conclusion already. He was the epitome of arrogance. I mean, look at him! He was leaning against the counter, turned away from me, sucking on yet another lollipop. He didn't have a care in the world.

I waited a bit more before replying, turning the page of my book on cue. Yesterday, I didn't lie to him because I thought that would be the last time I'd see him, and that would be the end of it. Nope. Instead, after telling him my normal shifts were in the evening, he stopped by today and asked me if I "could see yet". What does that even mean!?

"I just wanted a break from everything for awhile," I finally responded, a blatant lie. That wasn't the truth, or the full truth, anyways. I tried to get a job, but they said I lacked something important and that the exam was still ongoing. I tried to talk to Nuly about it, but she had no clue. Then I told Nuly that it was fine and that I wouldn't get work until she got her own License.

"Huh." He finished his lollipop, tossing it into the trash can on the other side of the room. It went in with ease, and I could've sworn I heard him whisper "Score". He tapped his fingers on the counter quietly. Maybe he knew it was a lie. Okay, he probably did. "Right."

Yeah, he knew it was a lie.

"You're not going to tell me the real reason?"

"That was the real reason."

"Liar."

I pouted, flipping another page of the book. In the corner of my eye, I could see him reaching out to grab one of the lollipops sticking out of the wall. He did that a lot. He ate more candy here than any other customer.

As if he could predict what I was going to say, he muttered, "Yeah yeah, I'm going to pay, I know."

It was silent as I deposited his money, the only other sound being the crinkling of the wrapper. He immediately dove into the lollipop, not hesitant to bite into it. I could hear the crunch from where I was sitting.

"You're kind of strange," I remarked, breaking the silence. I tried not to look at him, only the antique pages I was reading. Reading. Because I'd been reading for the last five pages, not just flipping pages when it felt necessary.

Killua pushed himself up onto the counter, legs hanging off the sides. The counter was tall enough that his legs didn't reach the floor. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"It's not a compliment. You and your friend are weird. What was his name- John? Won?"

"Gon," Killua hissed, probably giving me that blank stare again. "Well, thanks. I'm sure he'd be happy to know you think he's weird.

I rolled my eyes, thinking of yesterday's events.

...

_Before I could respond, the door was pushed open. A new boy stood there, finger pointing at the white haired boy in front of me._

_"Killua! I found you!"_

_White haired boy- presumably this Killua- turned around, slightly surprised to see the new boy. "Oh, that was quick."_

_What. In a matter of seconds, Killua returned to look at me. "We were playing hide and seek."_

_"Geez, Killua!" New Boy remarked, pouting. "What's the fun of finding you if I knew exactly where you were heading? This is your favorite candy store!"_

_"That's exactly why I came here!" barked Killua, attempted pout outshone by the touch of a smile. I cocked an eyebrow, glancing from both boys to my book. With a sigh, I turned the page. "Besides, Gon, why would you even check my favorite place? Don't you think I'd be smarter than that?"_

_Gon stared at Killua for a few more seconds, sticking his tongue out instead of favoring a reply. How old were these guys anyways?_

_I glanced to the clock, shutting my book. Standing, I walked to the door and held it open. "It's closing."_

_As they both left, I said the cheery repeated message I was always supposed to: "Thanks for coming! Please come again!"_

…

"How old are you guys? You both look older enough not to play hide and seek." I stared at him, watching as he continued to suck on the lollipop.

Killua took the stick out of his mouth, easily tossing it into the trashcan before getting yet another lollipop and biting into it again. By the time he turned to look at me, his lips were coated blue. "14. We're both 14."

"What!?" I stared harder, completely surprised. Then I notice the curl of his lips and realized that he was lying. Just lying. "Liar."

He merely shrugged and turned back away, watching the passersby through the window. "A lie for a lie sounds fair." Dang it.

This was the start of a relationship based on lies.

* * *

The weekend always left as fast as it came. Saturday and Sunday were the only days I didn't have to work at the candy shop.

So, like most weekends, I sat still on my bed, trying to come up with plans to do something. They nearly always fell through, as it wasn't rare for me to give up and go back to reading or something of the sort.

Just as I was about to settle for reading, the annoying buzz of my phone caught my attention. I reached out, my phone in plain sight for once, and quickly answered.

"Era!" Nuly didn't miss a beat, instantly talking by the time I answered. She continued talking, not giving me any time to greet her. "I'm heading into Yorknew later tonight! Wanna hang out?"

I stared at the phone. She was coming to Yorknew? "...What? You're-"

Not to my surprise or dismay, she cut me off, giggling. "Yeah! I probably should've told you sooner, but I didn't know it myself! Father has some business to take care of down there, and after begging him, he's letting me accompany! Isn't that great!?" Nuly had a loud, full laugh that made me want to smile. She always had a grin plastered on herself. My smile twitched, realizing that even when she failed the Hunter Exam, she continued to smile.

I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear, sitting up. The bed squeaked under my weight. I hesitantly stood, nodding even though she couldn't see me. "Sure. Call me when you arrive?" She agreed, then we both said our farewells.

My apartment was always quiet when nobody was talking. Maybe I should get a pet; wouldn't that make the place seem less lonely?

Sighing, I walked past my desk. The corner of one of my favorite pictures was peaking out of a drawer, so I pulled it out. In it, my father was holding me up high, higher than his head. In his other arm was the small bundle known as my little brother.

Setting the picture where I found it, I stepped out of my room. Nuly was coming, so I better find some things for us to do, right?

* * *

"Green Light is that way," I directed a group of teenagers over to the infamous restaurant. They gave me haste thanks and scurried off. Huh. It must be pretty awesome to have befriended so many people. Nuly was the first friend I had in years. When I lived with my father and grandparents, we were isolated, surrounding by trees covering miles.

Stalking away, I continued to stare at my phone. It was getting late, yet Nuly hadn't called. Maybe I should head back home…? I already figured that we'd go to the bakery. She loved sweets. I could probably always buy her some candy from my workplace…

The familiar ringtone hit my ears. I quickly answered, stifling a yawn. "Nuly?"

"Hey, Era! Found 'ya!"

She hung up.

I stared at my phone in confusion for a few seconds before turning. There, Nuly was standing, giving me two thumbs up. She hadn't changed since I last saw her. Her violet hair was still short, just reaching her shoulders. She was still thin, yet in better condition than during the Exam. During the Exam, even the portion before it, she was frail. It was a surprise that she had made it as far as she had, especially for being a rookie.

"Nuly…!" I took the few steps towards her, instantly shaking her hand. She rolled her eyes, pulling me into a hug instead. When she pulled back, her eyes were shining.

"I have three hours before Father requested me to get back to the hotel! What do you wanna do first?"

…

Ten minutes later, we were headed towards the bakery. The large one in the center of the city closed early and was almost always packed when it was open, but this smaller one stayed open hours later. Fewer people went, the food was better, and nothing tasted processed. How good could it get?

We both ordered. Oh, right. It was also cheap. Paying for the both of us only cost me 800 Jenny.

Setting our orders down into one of the booths, she slid in the seat across from me. She eyed her muffin curiously, turning it over. "Why didn't you pay with your License?"

I stopped eating my muffin mid bite, dropping it back onto my napkin. "It doesn't work like that," I lied. Averting my gaze, I tried to search for a different topic.

Luckily, Nuly dropped it. The door chimes rang, signaling a new customer. My companion glanced over, eyes widening. "Era!" she hissed. "Hotties at 12'o'clock!"

I rotated around in my seat to see whatever she meant. She was like this during the Exam, too. There were countless of applicants that she ogled over, and one other applicant that particularly caught her eyes. He failed the exam during the same phase she did.

"Hey, Leorio, what are you getting?"

I returned to reality, mouth agape as I realized who had come. Glancing back at Nuly, she was staring at them with cocked eyebrows. I turned back. That was Won, Killua's friend! Then there was a taller guy who looked as if he could be Won's dad…? No, Won was too old.

On cue, Won moved out of the way, and Killua came into view. Hands behind his head, he spoke quietly to the cashier. She nodded and gave him a bag, probably his order.

Won and Not-Won's-Dad continued to chat, Killua remarking that he'd get them a table. He turned, causing my table to enter his line of vision.

His lips instantly curled up. I knew what he was going to ask. I just knew it, and he probably knew that I knew it as I turned away, pretending that he hadn't caught my eyes.

In a second, he hovered over my table, Nuly gasping. "Hey, can you see yet?" he asked, looking smug. Nuly looked to him, then back at me. Then at him, then me. I nodded solemnly. Yep. This was the guy.

He shrugged when I didn't respond and scooted into the booth behind ours. He was directly behind me, so if the booth chairs weren't in the way, we'd be back to back. I subconsciously listened to the crinkling of his paper bag as he opened it, taking something out. Trying to ignore his enormous presence, I tried speaking with Nuly again.

Her attention was littered to Killua and company, causing her to ignore my small talk completely. "Why didn't you tell me he was hot!?" Nuly pulled me forward, though her attempts at whispers were equivalent to a normal person talking. I stared at her blankly, removing her hand from my collar and taking a bite out of my muffin. She continued to eye me, waiting for a response.

The muffin was fresh and delicious, chocolate chips melting in my mouth. I had a second of heaven before responding. "I mean…" Unlike Nuly, I made sure that my whispers were whispers. "I didn't think it mattered."

She and I were different, and she knew it. Leaning back, an unidentifiable emotion clouding her eyes, she stared past me, either at Killua or his friends.

"Killua! Isn't that the girl?"

Feeling eyes prodding my back, Nuly looked back at me with a triumphant smirk. She felt victorious for a reason I was unsure of.

"Yeah, that's the girl." Killua's voice was muffled. He was probably talking with his mouth open. "The girl that can't see even though she's a Hunter."

I rotated in my seat, staring daggers in the back of Killua's head. Not-Won's-Dad snickered, Won himself blinking. The way he said it with a feeling I couldn't recognize made me feel small. "It's not nice to talk about someone behind their back." That sounded cooler in my head. Literal takes on metaphorical situations never really sounded cool verbally.

When I turned back around, Nuly looked fierce. Eyebrows pushed down, she stood up and pushed my arm up as well. "Era, won't you introduce me to your friends?"

Standing myself, I glared hard at Nuly, hoping to elicit some sort of emotion other than fierceness from her. I wasn't sure what she was so frustrated with, but for whatever it was, she wasn't giving up.

Persistence.

"Well, Era, won't you?" Killua cocked his eyebrows, smug smirk coating the lower half of his face. Won and Not-Won's-Dad both gazed at me, probably hoping for me to speak.

Reluctantly, I pointed an accusing finger to Killua. "He's Killua. This is _the guy_." '_The guy_' had no meaning behind it besides being the person I had told Nuly about the night before, but I wanted Killua to ponder it just as he made me ponder why I was the girl "_who couldn't see_".

"Yo." Killua gave Nuly a two-finger salute, smug expression only growing.

Next, I pointed at Won. "That's Won."

"Gon." Gon looked at me, slightly confused even after I had learned his name when he and Killua had entered the candy store. If only he knew that in the narration in my head, I continued to call him Won incidentally.

"Right. Gon." Moving my finger to Not-Won's-Dad, I peered blankly at him. "I have no idea who that is."

Not-Won's-Dad looked highly offended, but in a teasing manner. Killua waved his hands, introducing Not-Won's-Dad as a man named Leorio. I kind of wanted to ask what Leorio's relationship to them was, as he looked too young to be a casual friend yet too old to be an elder relative. I decided against it after deciding that casual talk with them would only make me more irritated than I already was.

I dropped my hand and pointed behind me using my other thumb. "This is Nuly. Nuly, let's go."

She looked between the four of us, probably understanding that I was getting irritated. Not that it mattered; This would be the last time we'd see them again, and Nuly should've known that. It was pointless to introduce her to people I barely knew.

Literally dragging Nuly behind me, the only sound I was able to comprehend was Nuly's too happy "It was a pleasure to meet you!", her voice ringing in my ears.

* * *

**Killua's POV**

After Era and her friend Julie had left, I resumed looking at Leorio and Gon. They both stared at me, the palms of Leorio's hands pressed together as he concentrated hard.

"How long has she been a Hunter?" Gon finally asked, stabbing his brownie with a fork.

"Around a month. It was obvious that she was new to the game." I eyed him as he, probably subconsciously, cut the brownie into squares. "She completely lacks experience. She wouldn't have become a Hunter during our exam. Maybe the examiners got soft."

Leorio let out a full laugh, shaking his hand. "I highly doubt that! Her guard was up the whole time here, didn't you notice?" He paused. Yes, I did notice. Who wouldn't? Stroking the stubble of his chin, he continued. "So, you're certain she can't see?"

The answer was obvious. "I'm certain. I highly doubt that she knows what Nen is." Rolling my eyes, I watched as Gon began eating his cut up brownies.

"Well, its only been a month!" he chimed in. "Besides, I'm sure she'll find a teacher in no time!"

I shook my head, staring ahead of our table. "No, but what I've gathered, she doesn't seem interested." Sure, I've only known her for a handful of days, but she was working at a freaking candy shop. "The only question is why."

Leorio shrugged before trying to come up with an explanation. "Is her friend a Hunter?"

Huh. Now that I thought of it, Julie seemed to be stronger than Era, even as frail as she looked. Did Julie know of Nen…?

Too many questions and possibilities to consider. Sighing, I leaned my head in my hands. We were making too many assumptions.

Regardless, Era herself had no knowledge of Nen whatsoever.

I smirked. She would in a few days.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Woo! This would've been finished and uploaded yesterday, but I ended up falling asleep at 5pm and waking up confused at 10pm. o_O**

**Trying to slowly increase the length of each chapter. Do you guys prefer lengthier chapters taking longer to update or shorter chapters with faster updates? **

**Just to be safe, Era thought Gon's name was "Won", hence the narration. She called Leorio "Not-Won's-Dad" in the narration as well. Killua may or may not have purposely called Nuly "Julie". **

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**-Ashe**


	3. Cold Fears

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I decided to take the suggestions and increase the length of these chapters. **

* * *

**g-e-n-u-i-n-e**

**l-i-a-r-s**

_3: Cold Fears_

* * *

When I was younger, it was common for me to spend days in my father's workshop.

I was convinced that he was magic. He was able to turn simple wrought iron and steel into anything: Chains, nails, armor, and more weapons than I could count. The smoke of the fire that filled my senses became second nature to me as I hovered behind him, watching every move he made. My father thought that Benny Delon, the famous serial killer and crafter of the Benz knives, may have been insane, but his designed weapons were crazy amazing. He had exclaimed, numerous times, that the way Delon drew inspiration for his work was morbid yet unique.

Staring at the picture in my hands of my father, brother, and I, I shook my head. I really should go visit them. Still, I would have to save up money for that… the trip would only take me so far since we lived in an isolated area, surrounded by miles and miles of trees.

My eyes hovered to my License, remembering how I could probably take the trip free of charge with this card.

That was scary. Closing my eyes, I wondered what exactly would happen if a criminal or delinquent happened to get ahold of one of these. My memory brought me back to the Hunter Exam where more than a handful of the applicants seemed creepy or evil in their own ways. Applicant 221, the man I had to defeat in the fourth phase, was especially creepy. He looked older than 20, but was a rookie. We began the match with him naming off his sadistic desires.

Cringing, I rolled over in my bed, carefully setting the picture onto the ground. Okay, this wasn't helping at all. It was early Sunday morning, my alarm clock flashing bright red numbers. 3am. I had woken up nearly an hour ago, and instead of being lulled back to sleep, the night made me reflect on every single thing that had happened in the past year.

Sighing, I decided not to take any more of this. Shrugging a jacket over my tank top and sweatpants on top of my shorts, I redid my ponytail before exiting the room, making sure to slip my License, keys, picture, and phone into the pocket of the jacket.

Everything was prettier at night was what I acknowledged after exiting my apartment. Especially in Yorknew. The moon reflected off the streets, making everything shine silver. I smiled in bliss. Maybe me not being able to fall asleep was a sign to come outside and just… relax for once. Both Nuly and my brother, in the time they met, had agreed that though I acted calm, I was completely paranoid. It was scary how accurate that was.

I hummed as I walked, remembering the time I wanted to be a Music Hunter. It was a spur of the moment thing after hearing the tunes of a Music Hunter, but even if I became one, I wouldn't have had my whole heart in it. Even now, I wasn't sure what kind of Hunter I wanted to be.

Arguing on the other side of the street caused me to stop in my tracks. Two, presumably male, adults were going at it against a third figure. They spat filthy words at the third figure, but the third figure didn't seem to be paying attention.

_Just turn away and keep walking. This doesn't concern you._ I agreed with my conscious, deciding not to be rash as I turned away.

The ear rattling scream was the only thing that caused me to turn around.

Eyes widening, I tried to contemplate what I had missed in the second I was turned away. One of the two males was lying on the ground, the other completely freaking out and placing the blame on the third figure. The third figure walked away, in my direction, as I heard him say one thing: "Don't worry. He's not dead."

With my mouth ajar, I spun on my heel, only thinking of how I might die. Sure, maybe the third figure hadn't killed either of the guys, but the growing pile of red liquid on the ground next to the injured man gave me doubts. Sure, maybe I was just a passerby, but what if me just being there provoked the third figure? Sure, the third figure seemed calm enough, but didn't that make it more dangerous?!

I was just about to hit _flight_ mode when I saw the familiar face, lollipop sticking out of his mouth.

He looked in a daze, white hair messier than before. He walked with ease, completely calm, hands tucked neatly in his pockets. The only thing off, if anything, was the stain of blood covering his right pocket. Wait, no. That wasn't his blood. That was the guy.. that he attacked. The stench of blood hit my nose and made me want to barf.

This was crazy. Okay. Let's add onto the list of things that Killua is: A psycho. A huge psycho.

"Era?"

Realizing I hadn't even moved my spot, I didn't realize how terrified I was until Killua was staring me hard in the face. He pulled out the lollipop, the end completely cleaned off.

"What are you doing here at this hour?" His voice was calm as if I hadn't just saw him cause an injury. Wait, did I? I gazed over to the area, but the only thing remaining was the thin pile of blood. Did the two guys leave? Yeah, that would be the best possible explanation. With a wound like that, it would be crazy not to get medical attention.

He must've followed my gaze, nodding. "Oh, that." Mouth curving up, he stared even harder at me. His eyes peered through me. "Scared?"

I stayed silent, but the look on my face gave me out. _Yes! I'm terrified!_

He snicked, shaking his head in the process. "Well that's dumb. I can tolerate you, unlike them."

_So you just deliver fatal wounds to the people who you can't tolerate?!_ I wanted to ask, but I kept it to myself. This wasn't my problem, and it would never be. Sure, it was ironic that we seemed to continue meeting up, but that was highly coincidental. Now, all I needed to do was head back to my apartment unscathed. Then I could fall asleep and convince myself in the morning that I was just dreaming.

"I need to head back," I finally breathed out, not realizing how I hadn't said anything up to this point. Killua looked disappointed, and he made an effort to show it. I gripped my hands tighter, thrusting them deeper in my pockets.

"Aw, come on," he droned, exaggerated pout trying to get my attention. "Why can't you stay out for a few more minutes?"

I only returned his blank stare. "Because I'd prefer to leave with all my blood intact."

Killua's own eyes widened for a split second before he burst into laughter. Irritated, one of my eyebrows twitched. With a turn, I began heading back to my apartment, Killua's laugh ringing in my ears.

* * *

Sunday passed, and Monday began.

I observed myself in the mirror, noting the dark circles under my eyes, the skin sucked in. They stood out a lot. Luckily, I wasn't as pale as Killua, which was a blessing. If Killua had dark circles, he would be a raccoon.

I continued to stare at my reflection, wondering why in the world I had so suddenly began thinking of Killua. Probably because it was indirectly his fault that I looked as tired as I did. Last night, I woke up at 3am again. I had thought about leaving my apartment once more, but the memory of early Sunday registered in my mind. I had felt a sudden fear of leaving my room, so I stayed in bed, trying to fall asleep.

It didn't work.

"Damn him," I mumbled, brows furrowed as I walked the three blocks to the shop. It wasn't raining too hard, but I held an umbrella above my head.

As I approached, I noticed someone already standing in front of the shop, hood pulled up so I couldn't see their face nor hair. Wait a second. Narrowing my eyes, I realized that they weren't just standing in front of the shop. They were holding the door open.

It was 10 minutes before we opened! Nobody should've been in there! I sped up, the puddles of water splashing around my feet. The hooded figure suddenly turned, almost making the door close.

I instantly saw the dilemma. Unless the key was inserted on the inside (which is what I was instructed to do everyday), the door would lock once it closed. The hooded figure must have known this and came with an accomplice who was probably inside the shop.

_Who even steals from candy shops!?_ The hooded figure stayed in his spot, standing his ground. I could only make out the downturn of his mouth as he barked a command to his accomplice. My doubts were erased.

Then something weird happened.

The hooded figure retreated into the store mere seconds before I arrived, peering through the glass windows. They were foggy, but I could still see through them.

Nobody was inside.

* * *

I was in a daze as I sat behind the counter, musing of what could have happened.

Sure, they could've left through the back door, but that would've been impossible. A key was needed to open and close the back door, and unlike the front, didn't lock without the key. Besides, the back door was locked tight when I went to check. On the escape, people don't make sure to lock up behind them. Plus, I would've seen them leave.

_Magic?_ The thought made me laugh. This wasn't magic. This wasn't anything close to the magic I believed my father had when he created new weapons. Still, I couldn't come up with any other logical explanation...

"Excuse me."

Maybe I was hallucinating?

"Excuse me."

Yeah, that could've happened! Besides, I was low on sleep, so maybe it was just paranoia-

"Excuse me!"

I blinked, my train of thought derailing. A teenage girl, hair tied back in two low pigtails, glared at me. It was hard to ignore her figure. She was voluptuous, her hips and chest wide. Accompanied with such a small waist, I felt a surge of jealousy. She must have known this; One side of her mouth curved up as she dumped a truckload of candy onto the table.

"5525 Jenny, right?"

Baffled, I began sorting out the candy, counting the prices as I went. Okay, nobody needed this much chocolate. Or this much cotton candy. Or this many lollipops. This was worse than Killua!

Once I nodded, the girl handed me her money. She gratefully took the bag of candy I held out, instantly leaving the room. She was pretty. She was really pretty.

Trying to shake the thoughts away, I sighed and stared around the shop. It was empty again. I returned to my thoughts, thinking of the girl, the robbery, Killua's attack…

On cue, Killua barged into the room, this time a yellow skateboard tucked underneath his arm. He glanced around the shop, took one of the lollipop bouquets, and set it on the counter. Huh, no chocolate today?

"Yo," he greeted, lips turned up. I wasn't afraid.

"I don't understand how you manage to eat so many sweets," I blandly responded. "They taste so… artificial. It's gross."

"I don't understand why you aren't on actual missions like _real_ Hunters," he retorted with an eye roll of his own. He leaned forward, both of his elbows on the table. "Your life is so… plain. It's boring."

I wanted to reply with something offending, but nothing came to mind. Instead, I stared hard at him, watching as he responded with an equally hard stare. I unclenched my fist, not realizing that I had clenched it in the first place. Okay. Maybe I was a bit on edge today.

"You have bags under your eyes. They're, like, purple." My fingers instantly went to my eyes, feeling how the area underneath them was sucked in. I felt terrible. I looked terrible. I wanted to pin the blame on Killua, but he would probably just make fun of me if I did that.

I blew out a breath, letting out a long sigh. "Long night."

"Oh, really?" He jumped onto the counter, his back facing me. Dropping the skateboard next to him- which successfully pushed my arm from where it was- he pulled out one of the lollipops he just bought. "How so?"

_Well, you attacking two random guys, me seeing the blood, me being terrified to fall asleep, someone breaking into a candy shop for whatever reason…_ There were a ton of reasons I could have check off, but I didn't say any of it. Instead, I continued our game of lies. "The neighbor's dog kept me up."

Then Killua turned around and was staring at me in the face so intently that I had to look away. "You're. A. Liar." He emphasized each syllable, sticking his tongue out at the end.

"Okay, I'm going to pretend that you only know that because you don't stalk me."

"One. It's obvious when you lie. Two. You just admitted it. Three. I don't stalk you." Killua's voice was calm, confident, and… arrogant.

"Yeah, right, obviously," I doubted, rolling my eyes. "One. It's not. Two. Did not. And three, so it's just coincidence that we always end up in the same place at the same time?"

"Man, calm yourself." He scoffed, rolling his eyes for the umpteenth time that day. His words were muffled by the lollipop. "For the record, on Sunday morning, _you_ ended up finding _me_ at 3am. Maybe you've been the stalker this whole time."

"Me?" I gawked at him, mouth agape. "Why would I be the stalker? I don't even _know_ you."

"Touche. Then why would I be stalking you? I don't believe I know you any better," he returned, victorious grin just beginning to erupt on his face. He thought he won this!

Throwing my hands up, I peered at him with creased brows. "I… I don't know! Maybe you have a strange fetish or something!"

"..."

"..."

"Is that even a thing?"

"I don't know." I fell forward, placing my head on the table. My comeback didn't even make sense. "Okay, you win. I admit defeat."

"Oh, was this a competition? I didn't realize." There it was again. His cocky attitude. He knew that he was being ridiculous, and he knew that it irked me. That was probably why he did it. Typical teenage boy.

I fiddled with my thumbs, gazing blankly at the counter in front of me. "...Would you ever steal from a candy shop?" I was well aware that my question came out of nowhere, but maybe I could get some sort of an answer from him? Wait… what if it was Killua that stole?!

Killua only raised an eyebrow, stifling a yawn. "What? No, of course not. It's freaking candy." He rolled his eyes at my doubtful glance. "Candy doesn't even cost that much. Anyways, thanks for the entertainment, Era. I'm heading out not. Don't stalk me, alright?"

He jumped off the counter, leaving the space feeling empty. Casually strolling towards the door, he raised a single hand to wave goodbye. I felt like an idiot for even thinking that he was the one who broke in. For once, I could tell that he wasn't lying.

Hand on the doorknob, he turned 180 degrees. "Oh, isn't there something you're supposed to say to customers before they leave?"

The smile on my face tugged at my lips subconsciously. "Thanks for coming! Please come again."

"Well, if you really want me to…" He laughed, the door shutting behind him.

* * *

"Ooh! I hear that there's going to be an arm wrestling tournament tonight in the plaza at 8! You wanna go?"

Attached to my wrist, I was pulled behind Nuly as she chattered on about the city events that would be happening during her stay. She seemed interested in challenges of mental and physical strength, though I was doubting her physical prowess due to her lanky figure.

"I don't think I have a choice, do I?" She only responded with a knowing grin before turning and dragging me behind.

It was near 9pm, so it was dark outside. Nuly was busy during the day, probably accompanying her father. She couldn't hang out on Sunday, either, but today was alright. Still… I was disappointed to find that the streets weren't as pretty as the last time I strolled through town. Then again, when that happened, I was strolling through alone, at 3am, because I couldn't get to sleep. Unlike the hundreds of people we were passing now, I had only encountered three people that night.

That night. I had nearly convinced myself that it was just all a dream, but I knew that I would never be able to force myself to believe that. Besides, Killua didn't even kill that guy… I think. Regardless, I had to keep my guard up around him. Even if he said that he could tolerate me. Even if I lowered my alertness today in the candy shop when we were firing retorts back and forth. Even if he seemed completely harmless. In the end, we were both liars, and we both knew it. How many substantial truths have I told him? How many substantial truths has he told me? I'd probably be able to count the total number of truths combined on both my hands.

I hadn't realized that I had stopped walking until Nuly tugged on my wrist, worry glazed over her face. "Era? You okay? You look kind of dazed."

Slowly moving my head for our gazes to meet, she only grew with concern. Has Nuly lied to me? In the end, isn't everyone really a liar…? _No. Stop that._ I bit down hard on my lower lip. This was getting out of hand. I was being paranoid again, and I knew it.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" I assured, shaking my head and giving her a smile. She either ignored or didn't notice my clenched fists to my relief.

She merely turned away and continued to chatter off to herself. I tried to listen, but nothing she was saying seemed to be of importance. Man, that was rude. Was I always this bad?

My eyes fluttered to Nuly's back. She really was skinny. Her features were sharp, especially her collarbone. Even as skinny as she was, I thought that she was pretty.

"Hey, where are we going?" I asked, and Nuly stopped walking to look at me.

Puzzled, she asked, "Weren't you listening? We're heading to the arm wrestling tournament." I only nodded, and that was when she probably realized that I hadn't been listening to her for the last few minutes. She probably thought it was strange and would've yelled at me in any other circumstance, but from my dazed attitude tonight, she didn't say anymore. "Well, I wanna see how we fare against everyone else! C'mon, it'll be fun!"

"Your definition of fun is much different than mine, Nuly."

She stuck her tongue out. "No, my mind is similar to a teenage girl's. Your version of fun is equivalent to my grandma's."

"Pfft! I just like reading. Is that such a problem?"

We continued to talk, but this time it wasn't one sided. I tried harder to respond to her statements with an equal amount of enthusiasm. Finally realizing that I wasn't going to get left behind or drift away, Nuly dropped her hand from my wrist, so we could walk side by side.

The arm wrestling arena wasn't even really an arena. It was the basement of a storage building, and the only reason we didn't get lost was due to the numerous signs and arrows that pointed to our destination.

"Ew, it stinks down here," Nuly commented, eyeing most of the other guys in the room. It was hard not to notice the scarceness of women here, and even more so, teens. The majority of the room included big, beefy men that were sizing us up. My instinct to flee kicked in, but Nuly quickly latched onto my wrist again and dragged me to a corner of the room. "Relax. This is an arm wrestling tournament!"

I was still having my doubts, but it was too late to leave. The room began to dim, and a young man stood up on the box in the middle of the room. He began by welcoming us before diving into rules.

"Each competitor will get a number! A tier tournament will be made." As he talked, another young man began handing out the numbers. I was number 29, and Nuly was number 30. The speaker looked around, noticing how everyone seemed to have their number. "Well! Let's head to the actual arena then, why don't we?"

Oh, so this storage area wasn't where the actual tournament was to take place. Nuly and I waited as the rest of the competitors filed out, us following along behind them.

That made sense. Since this was an actual tier tournament, late entries wouldn't be able to be added in. With all the signs pointing this way, late entries wouldn't be able to find the actual arena. It was actually pretty smart.

Not that the actual arena was too far, I noted. All the competitors filed into the basement of the building next door. At least it was nicer than the storage room basement, and the smell was tolerable. Multiple 'arenas' (meaning tables that were labeled with letters) were scattered around the room, chairs pulled out in the back to act as seats. I followed as Nuly chose a seat close to the arenas.

"The competition board has been completed. We have a total of 32 entrants. Please check the board in the back to see where you currently stand. We'll be beginning in a few minutes."

Everyone rushed to the back, but I restrained Nuly. "We'll check when it thins out."

After checking, I sighed in relief. I was facing number 25, more than half down the line. Nuly was a few matches before me, but we weren't anywhere near facing each other. Because of our late starts, we'd be able to gauge the strength of our opponents.

"Era?" I glanced up to notice Nuly hovering over me. "You look like you're concentrating really hard… Just relax. It's an arm wrestling tournament." I forced a smile. She was right.

"We'll now be starting!" the speaker announced. "Numbers 11 and 23, please go to Stage A. Numbers 2 and 4, please go to Stage B. Numbers 3 and 12, please go to Stage C. And numbers 24 and 31, head down to Stage D!"

The tournament had begun.

* * *

"I'll be fine, Era! Don't worry!"

I bit my lower lip, highly doubting that. The first four matches had been completed, so the next four were to come on any second. Numbers 11, 2, 12, and 24 had been the victors. They all shared the trait of being muscular, but not as buff as I thought everyone was originally. Nuly was right; I was getting paranoid. At least Nuly's opponent, number 15, wasn't that big.

"Wish me luck!" She jogged to Stage A, giving me two thumbs up as she went.

Observing from my seat, I noted the surrounding competitors setting up. Numbers 10 and 22 were in Stage B, both pretty buff. Gulping, realization hit me that if Nuly won, regardless of who won in Stage B, she would be facing one of the more muscular guys here.

"And… start!"

A second after the start, gasps erupted around the room. I temporarily lifted my gaze from Nuly's stage to Stage C. Already, number 13 had won, his opponent holding his own arm in pain. Number 13 held his hands up, his shoulders moving in such a way that he was laughing.

That spiky hair was too familiar.

Number 13 turned. I wasn't surprised by who it was. Won- Gon made eye contact with me for a split second, his smile growing even further. He sent a small wave my way, in which I returned. Wait. If Gon was here, did that mean Killua was, too…?

_SLAM!_

I shook the thoughts away, turning my attention back to Nuly's stage. By now, she was the only person left in a match, so all eyes were trained on her table after the uproar Gon caused had ended.

They looked equal in strength, both struggling. Sexist comments, seeing as women were scarce here, were thrown around the room.

"What, you can't even beat a girl at arm wrestling?!"

"Wow, two girls fighting it out!"

Nuly was just about to lose, her hand inches from the surface. The commentator was watching intently, and Number 15, her opponent, looked victorious.

Then I blinked and must've missed a lot lot because by the time I opened my eyes, the tables had turned, and Nuly was now winning, Number 15's hand an inch from hitting the table.

Cheers erupted in the room after Nuly secured her victory. I felt kind of bad for her opponent. With his loss, he was sure to be tormented, especially considering Nuly's petite size.

The commentator gave Nuly a pat on the back, Gon even running up to greet and congratulate her. She merely smiled before turning my way, ignoring the wave of compliments that she received. I gave her a thumbs up as she approached, her arms wrapping around my back in a hug.

"Nice job," I whispered. Sure, it may have only been the first round, but it was obvious that girls didn't often enter these kinds of tournaments here. The ogling of the guys only confirmed my suspicions.

"Thanks! You're up next, aren't you?"

Nodding, I gave a sheepish smile, knowing that I had to win my match as well. I was just about to respond when a certain spiky haired male came running up to us.

"Nuly! Era!" Gon greeted, instantly giving Nuly a high five. Sure, it was only arm wrestling, but he hadn't even broken a sweat… and wait, Gon won within the first second of starting.

I stared blankly at him as he began chatting with Nuly, an endless stream of thoughts clouding my mind. Did Gon's quick win not startle anyone else? Maybe I was overthinking things again. This was arm wrestling, so if one person had that much strength over another, it wouldn't be that surprising. Still, Gon just won an arm wrestling match against someone three times his size…

"Era!" Nuly punched my arm to bring me back to reality, peering intently at my face. "You're up in a minute!"

I blinked, both Nuly and Gon staring confused at me. "Right, right." I breathed out a sigh, cutting Nuly's speech off. "Is Killua here?"

Gon's smile twisted up even further. "Yeah! He's-"

This time, it was the commentator that cut off Gon. "The next four matches to the stages!"

"Yeah? Where is he?" I asked, curious beyond question. Gon only shook his head, gently pushing me to my stage. Nuly shoved me forward as well, raising her eyebrows while wearing a knowing smirk.

I ignored the comments thrown around me as I sat down, waiting for my opponent, Number 25, to arrive. We were at Stage D, farthest from the crowd of people.

"Hey! Don't lose!" That voice was too familiar. Turning, I wasn't surprised to just make out the white of Killua's hair before seeing his face. Holding a lollipop in one hand, he cupped his other one near his mouth. "I'll be _so_ disappointed if you do!"

I ignored him, facing forward again. Number 25 had just sat down, eyeing me with uncertainty. He was bulkier than Nuly's opponent, but nowhere near as muscular as Gon's. I could do this.

"I apologize. My pride is at stake here," he commented, setting his elbow on the table. I got into position as well, heart pounding more than it should have been as I waited for the start.

"And… start!"

Just like that, I was already the underdog, struggling not to lose. Number 25 was expressionless as he pushed for the win. I continued to struggle. It was wasted effort. In a few seconds, my hand had hit the surface of the table. It was a fast loss.

I lost.

"Number 25 wins against 29!"

Turning away, I tried to hide my disappointment with a small laugh. It was pathetic that Nuly had won, yet I lost. I was a Hunter who passed the exam. She hadn't passed.

I wanted to beat myself up for using that card. That didn't mean anything. Number 25 didn't looked like a Hunter either, but he still beat me with ease.

Standing, I gazed at where Killua was sitting. He was grinning, yet shook his head. "Tough luck!" he called out. Though I was disappointed, the smile creeped onto my face.

Killua jumped off his seat, approaching. The lollipop stick was prodding out of his mouth as he grinned my way, heading towards Stage B. Considering Gon's strength, I didn't question whether or not Killua would win. Something told me that he would.

Moments later, their round began, and Killua won against his opponent just as fast as Gon had.

* * *

**A/N: I'll try hitting 5000 words per chapter from now on (not including Author's Notes, ofc).  
What do you guys think Era's (and Nuly's owo) Nen types will be? ^^**

Please R & R. :D

**-Ashe**


	4. Bitter Secrets

**Author's Note: So I finally drew a picture of Era and Nuly! You can go to Ree-chii on deviantart and be able to find it. I also linked it on my profile.**

* * *

**g-e-n-u-i-n-e  
l-i-a-r-s**

_4: Bitter Secrets_

* * *

"I can't believe you won, and more so I can't believe that the prize was only 10,000 Jenny."

Nuly rolled her eyes at my comment, still staring at the wad of Jenny in Gon's hands as he counted it up. It was actually pretty comical the way Killua had to correct his counting. Not that Gon was stupid or anything, just… confused. His forte was definitely fighting, not math. "10,000 Jenny is a lot, Era. Plus it was only an arm wrestling tournament, so you can't blame them."

I had never known that arm wrestling could be so intense. Nuly had lost her second match, and thank goodness that she did. If she didn't, she would've had to face Gon. Gon completely won without struggling against all but one of his opponents. Nuly laughed after her match, actually thanking the guy for beating her after he got creamed by Gon. The guy sent Nuly such a harsh glare that I even shrunk in my seat.

It didn't come to a surprise that Gon and Killua ended up in the finals. Comments from the crowd told me that they also expected it, then the crowd commenced to bet on who would win. Apparently a few years back, they had both entered. Gon had won that time, but for some reason, everyone thought Killua would win this time.

Except he didn't. Killua and Gon were locked in the match, Gon winning in the slightest. Then Killua "got bored" after being locked like that for more than a minute. Then Killua forfeited. Then Killua ignored the hate comments from the people who betted on him.

"Not like it mattered who won. We agreed on splitting the prize money either way, didn't we, Gon?" Killua was walking with his hands behind his back, glancing at Gon.

Gon nodded. "Yeah! What are you spending your prize money on, Killua?" His smile widened even further as he split the money into roughly equivalent sections, handing one half to Killua. "Though I have a feeling I know what you're going to say."

Killua let out a laugh, and I started laughing for no particular reason as well. Killua and Gon had a cute relationship. It struck me as strange how two guys so different could be so similar. Then again, Nuly and I were complete opposites. Still, they both looked like they strived for fun and strength. I was baffled by how strong they were, too. They were only older than me by less than a year, but their power was decades ahead of my own.

"Duh!" Arrogance peered at me. "Your shop open this late?"

I shook my head, instantly feeling in my jacket for my key. It wasn't there, but I didn't expect it to be. "No. You missed closing by two hours." Killua sent a scoff my way. Heh, I shouldn't have been surprised that he wanted to spend his prize money on candy.

My mind trailed back to the robbery, still confused as ever. It was a good thing I didn't have my key on me because I'd be tempted to open up shop just for him. As casual as he was, we had still only just met. I didn't trust him, and I didn't expect him to trust me. We were both liars, and we both knew it.

"Hey, Era, do you have work tomorrow?"

Nuly's question brought me out of my train of thought. Everyone peered at her. She looked disappointed when I nodded my head. "Why?"

"Well…" She stuffed her hands in her pockets, shrugging. "Father is going off alone tomorrow, so I'll be in Yorknew all alone. I just wanted to know if you wanted to go out?" She slowed down her pace causing the three of us to follow suit.

"I-"

Gon's voice cut through my words. He continued to gaze at Nuly, smiling as innocently as usual. "What does your father do, Nuly?" It was an innocent question, and I didn't blame Gon for asking.

Now that I thought about it, I _didn't_ know much about Nuly's personal life. She didn't know much about me, either, other than the few facts I had told her in the beginning. After the Exam, she never asked again, and I never found a reason to tell her anything more. Still, she had never spoken of her own personal life besides the surface facts. All I knew was that she was the oldest child of three, living with her parents. The way she bit her lip, averting our eyes, just made me more suspicious.

Either way, I wouldn't force her to say if she was that against telling us. I never really felt a reason to know, anyways. When I thought about it, I didn't know more about Gon nor Killua than Nuly.

And I was perfectly happy with that. The closer you get to someone, the more you understand. I held Nuly in a golden light at the moment. If she were to tell me something unsettling about herself, the light would dim, and I would regret asking. I was judgemental, and I knew it. I was happy with keeping my distance from her, from Killua, from Gon. I was happy with the way I viewed them. I didn't want that to change.

"You don't have to say," I commented, trying to keep a straight face. No. I wasn't curious.

Her lips turned up, and I knew she felt grateful. "It's not important, anyways," she covered.

How to make a conversation awkward 101. Gon only looked between the silent glances of Nuly and I, even whispering something to Killua. Killua responded with smacking Gon on the head, calling him stupid.

"Anyways…" I began, trying to ignore whatever was happening behind me. "It might be kind of boring, but why not come to my workplace? I get bored there. A lot. It would be a lot more fun with you around."

Nuly resumed smiling the smile I came to love. "Yeah! Of course! It won't be an issue?"

"Pfft. Of course not." I rolled my eyes. "There's only ever one employee in there at a time, and for the mornings, that's me." I thought back to how a few days ago when meeting Killua, I was still on the evening shifts. Molley, the girl that usually took the mornings, came down with some sort of illness. Me working the mornings benefitted everyone.

I paused in my step, quickly turning. Really, I needed to be more careful in my wording. As horrendous as it sounded, even though I knew Killua wasn't the candy thief, I was worried. He and Gon didn't seemed fazed by the news. Actually, they were still bickering about who knows what.

We were all strangers, weren't we?

Unable to avoid a grin, I turned forward again to walk beside Nuly. Everything was fine the way it was. Everything was perfect.

* * *

"Is this seriously all you do all day!?"

I looked up from my book. Nuly was literally sprawled out on the ground in front of the cotton candy barrels, arms stretched as she fiddled with the lid. She had peeled her boots off a long time ago, one placed in front of the door, and one hanging from the ceiling. It was painfully obvious how bored she was, obvious enough to attract attention from the other customers in the store.

I ignored her comment, though my grin gave my position away as I tried to decipher the amount of money a women needed to pay for her candy.

After handing the women her bag, she glared down at Nuly's form. "You should really do something about that!" she huffed, an accusing finger situated in Nuly's direction. I tried my best to look serious as I reassured her that I would take matters into my own hands. Nuly only pouted, beginning to flail on the floor.

Once she left, we exchanged simultaneous eye rolls. We were the only ones in the store now. This was the first and last time Nuly would be in here sprawled out like that, and it would be the last time in a while when she would be in Yorknew. She should be allowed to have fun, especially since she was stuck sitting here at my job.

"Oh, looks like you won't be bored any long." She followed my line of sight to the doors just as Killua and Gon barged in, Gon greeting us both.

Killua automatically came directly towards me and leaned forward on the counter. "The usual. We're sorta in a rush."

I deadpanned, sighing as I leaned back in my seat. "I don't know what your usual is. I've been your cashier like three times, and everytime, you've gotten something different." In the corner of my eyes, I could see Gon handing Nuly one of the bags of cotton candy that she had been reaching for. "And you have to pay for that too, by the way," I directed to them. Nuly stuck her tongue out throwing thw bag into Gon's face.

"Lame." Killua squatted down and grabbed a few things on the shelf under me. Three chocolate bars, one dark, one milk, and one white. Then he hurried and snagged a bag of cotton candy. Then he continued to pile things onto my shelf.

I picked through the array of candy and sweets, cringing at the sight of all the processed, sugary grossness that sat in front of me. "This is _disgusting_."

Killua merely pushed the grossness towards me. "It's your job to take my money, not criticize me." Unable to come up with a favorable comeback, I began to count what he owed. "Wait, no. Just take this." He shoved his Jenny towards me, impatiently tapping his fingers on the table. "You'll take too long to count. I owe 3000 Jenny."

My hand twitched. "Wow, complain much?" Regardless of what he said, I quickly skimmed over the candy just to make sure. Not that I thought he would lie in a circumstance like this, but it was employee protocol.

Killua watched as I fussed over the merchandise, purposely going slow just to tick him off.

Finally, when I handed him the bags, he spoke. "Still blind?"

"I still have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

He didn't say anything more. "Gon, let's go." Without saying bye, Kilua began to head towards the door, two bags of grossness in his hands. Gon said his farewells, waving as the door shut behind them.

* * *

That night, I couldn't fall asleep.

For the umpteenth time, I glared at my alarm clock, noting how only 2 minutes had passed since I last looked at it. This may have been worse than waking up in the middle of the night like the last few days. My eyes were heavy, but my thoughts proved useless in helping me snooze.

As if they knew I was still up, my phone suddenly went off, the noise bouncing off the walls into my ears.

I struggled to get out of the comfort of my bed, flailing my arms around until my hand landed on the form of the phone. "Hello?" I answered, long yawn muffling my words.

"..." Heavy breathing could be heard on the other end. Okay… not creepy at all. It was probably a dumb telemarketer or something. Right. They always seemed to get my numbers. Last December, someone called and claimed that the Hunter's Association was watching me to get me to buy security.

Hanging up, I dropped the phone onto the floor next to the bed. I had two choices. One, stay in bed and will myself to fall asleep (unlikely). Two, get out of bed and go outside. Both options sounded dreadful, but I was leaning more towards the second one. Besides, what was I scared of? Seeing Killua killing someone again? I highly doubted that would happen again. It were mere chance that we had encountered one another the first time.

I pulled socks over my bare feet, going agonizingly slow. Regardless of what I told myself, there was that nerve wracking fear in the back of my mind telling me not to go out. Not that I wanted to in the first place. If my first choice was better, I would've stayed, but I obviously wasn't falling asleep anytime soon. I could only hope that being outside for a bit would lull me to sleep when I returned.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Surprisingly, the bags under my eyes weren't as dark as before… or maybe I was getting used to the sight? My hair was let down, spilling around me in piles of dark green locks.

Shivering, I pulled a second jacket over my first. Stalling.

After exiting my apartment, locking it behind me, it was hard not to notice how eerily quiet the atmosphere was. All the fear of whatever unknown entity I was afraid was going to pop up vanished. Nuly was right. I had been too paranoid recently. I was overthinking everything.

I shrugged off my top jacket, realizing that it wasn't even remotely cold. There was a slight breeze. Besides the fact that it pushed my hair every which way, I dare say that it felt nice outside.

Though it did strike me as odd that I hadn't encountered _anyone_ even though it was only 10pm, I shook the negative thoughts off. Too paranoid.

As I approached one of the many parks Yorknew had, a different feeling entirely began to bubble up inside me as I realized that I was nearing the form of another person. They were sitting, alone, on one of the swings, not bothering to push themselves off the ground.

For some reason, I thought it was Killua. He seemed to pop up wherever I went and vice versa, but the golden locks that this figure had caused me to change my mind. It was a boy, and it wasn't hard to tell that he looked completely lonely. Torn, perhaps.

My instinct to flee kicked in, but reluctantly. I didn't want to just run away again, wouldn't that just prove how paranoid I was? If I ran, then I would've lost the battle against myself.

Luckily, I didn't have to make my mind up myself. Instead, the figure looked up, eyes flashing red before they faded into a normal color. My heart jumped. I was spotted.

"You're up late," the figure remarked, voice just loud enough that I could hear. It wasn't a voice that I recognized, and the intense scarlet of their eyes scared me. I hesitantly came closer. The boy was fairly young, no more than 5 or 6 years older than I. He was leaning forward, legs stretched out onto the area in front of him.

I shrugged. It was late and I was probably out of it, but I responded regardless. "It's only 10. I'm surprised that the rest of Yorknew is sleeping."

For some reason, the figure laughed, but it sounded sad. "You're right." He didn't look up as I sat in the swing farthest from him, pushing myself off the ground. Strangely enough, I didn't feel fear. It was a casual conversation with a stranger. "Would you… care if I talked to you?"

I shook my head, not completely aware of what he meant, but going along with it anyways. "Go ahead."

Even though he asked if he could speak, the boy stayed silent, eyes closed and palms pressed together in deep concentration. I continued to swing, pushing myself off the ground each time as I waited for him to speak. The swing squeaked every time I passed through my initial point.

Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up-

"Do you think the night is frightening?"

I dug the heel of my shoe into the ground when he spoke, peering at him. He was still in the same position as before, the only difference being that his eyes were now half lidded. He looked like he was in a daze, eyes glossed over. Like he wanted to cry but wouldn't allow himself. He was attractive in a strange way. Almost like a prince.

I took my time in responding as I thought his question over. It was painfully obvious how much it connected to my current situation, but there was no way he could have known that. "I think that everyone and everything can be frightful at some point," I admitted, flustered as to realize that I just admitted that I was paranoid, "...but the night alone isn't."

The boy tilted his head in what I assumed to be a nod. "Good answer."

"Do you?"

"Pardon?"

"Do you find the night to be scary?"

Up. Down. Up. Down.

"No," he finally replied. "If anything, the day is scarier since it's unpredictable."

I ceased my swinging, contemplating his words. "I get you. It's natural to feel safe during the day, so when that natural reaction is thrown off with something, like a robbery or attack, it throws off that natural feeling." Tapping my lower lips, I furrowed my brows. I wasn't scared of the night. I was scared of what I saw Killua doing since it changed how I viewed him. "But an attack or robbery at night is… normal. Does that even make sense?"

The tinge of a smile on his face told me that it did. "Yes, it does, in a confusing way."

It was a good idea I came out here, but now I was actually getting tired. "I should head back." Jumping off my swing, the boy also stood. I'm not sure why, but the way my swing was moving compared to the stillness of his struck me. "...And you should, too."

"You're right." He looked down, opening his mouth once before closing it. His face softened, and it didn't seem like he had the need to cry anymore. "I hope we meet again…"

"Era," I cut in. "My name's Era."

"Well, Era." He sent me another one of those lonesome smiles. "It was a pleasure." Just as he had turned around, he whispered two more words: "I'm Kurapika."

When I had gotten home, I was right. I fell onto my bed, collapsing into a heap of sweet dreams. Of lies and truths, of friends and foes, of the past and present.

It was the best slumber I'd had in weeks.

* * *

Wednesday morning, I was surprised at my reflection.

The bags under my eyes were still there, but just barely noticeable. I felt a lot better than recently. My skin was even… glowing.

Okay, exaggeration. But still, it didn't change the fact that I felt and looked better. With a blissful sigh, I pulled my locks into a high ponytail after tossing on the uniform shirt.

As I headed out, I realized that lots of things had happened in the past week. I had met Killua, witnessed an injury, witnessed a robbery, hung out with a close friend. I had entered an arm wrestling tournament, realized my weakness, and had a heart-to-heart with a stranger.

With my thoughts to occupy myself, my shift flew by.

* * *

"Do you know the next time you'll be back?"

"Well, if I die, I told my dad to have the funeral here, so." Nuly grinned at her comment, twisting a violet lock around her finger. She was just about to leave my company, and I wasn't sure when she'd be back. From what I knew, her father's job took him all over. That narrowed a lot of things down as what he could be. I ceased my thoughts about it. Nuly didn't want me, or anyone for that matter, to know, so thinking about it until I came to a conclusion would be almost like… betraying her.

"Oh, hah." I shoved her gently, fiddling with the strap of my bag. She obviously wasn't sure when she would return, and I wasn't sure how long I would even be in Yorknew. "Then…"

"Don't say goodbye," she quickly cut in, staring down. I watched as her hand balled up into a fist. The atmosphere changed. "Don't say it. I'm not sure how long a goodbye means."

She was being so… serious. An empty feeling gnawed the back of my heart, something unsettling washing over me. Her words lacked the jolly, carefree tone that I had gotten used to. She sounded forlorn, the look on her face matching her words. It was actually pretty frightening seeing her like that.

"Then I won't. I won't say anything," I promised. Her mouth curved up, eyes meeting my arm as she held out her arms to embrace me. "I was never too good at saying goodbyes, anyways." It was a short hug, and in a matter of moments, she was gone.

Her retreating figure headed into her building. She didn't say anymore, didn't wave, didn't turn.

I regretted not saying farewell.

* * *

_From: (xxx) xxx-xxxx  
__Huh. julie gone?_

The ringtone of my phone broke cut through the silence I was currently engulfed in. My apartment seemed quieter than before after Nuly left, so a sudden text message from an unknown number was a surprise.

Though the unknown number probably wasn't even someone I didn't know. Aided with the fact that nobody but one person I could think of would call Nuly "Julie" due to my own mistake of his best friend's name, it was obviously Killua.

Well, I didn't have to respond.

_From: (xxx) xxx-xxxx_  
_I know what youre doing omfg_

Nope. Still not responding.

_From: (xxx) xxx-xxxx  
__How annoyed would you get if I text spammed you? lalalalalallalalalala_

...How did he even get my number in the first place?

_From: (xxx) xxx-xxxx  
__Uuuugh, give me a discount for candy_

Maybe I should just turn my phone off.

_From: (xxx) xxx-xxxx  
__look outside_

He was obviously just trying to psyche me out.

_From: (xxx) xxx-xxxx  
__DID YOU LOOK OUTSIDE  
__IT'S IMPORTANT_

Okay, since Killua could obviously see me (note sarcasm), I decided to humor him. With an exaggerated sigh, I stood up and lugged myself to the window, half expecting to see him doing something insane.

Nope. Everything was normal.

_To: (xxx) xxx-xxxx  
__Go away._

The screen flashed white, awaiting for my next command.

_[WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD (xxx) xxx-xxxx AS A CONTACT?]_

I hovered over 'no' to reject it, but the incoming text from Killua changed my mind.

_[Yes, add contact]_

_From: Killuarrogance_  
_lol you responded_

Ugh! That little… he really was just trying to get a response from me! Ignoring his text, I shut my phone and jammed it into my pocket. Well, hah. Joke's on him. I'm not responding. I was more worried over the fact of how he got my phone number in the first place…

Against my instincts, I pulled my phone out only to see 8 new messages. I skimmed them over, but nothing of interest caught my eyes. It was mainly him complaining and making fun of me.

_To: Killuarrogance  
__Meet me in front of the candy shop._

My heart fluttered in excited as soon as I hit send. Now that I had a way to contact him, I had a way to get answers. I wasn't sure what made me so daring. Maybe it was the fact that Nuly left? The conversation I had with Kurapika? Either way, there was something I'd been wanting to know.

_From: Killuarrogance_  
_Already there._

* * *

It was easy to spot Killua. He looked extremely bored, lollipop jutting out of his mouth as he leaned against the candy shop. Probably hearing me approaching, he turned, only giving a two finger salute as a greeting. He wore a white vest, muscular arms exposed. His hair looked combed, yet messy if that was possible. I almost made a comment about the violet of his pants, but decided against it. He'd be able to respond with something equally offending since my own shirt was the same shade.

"It's not like you to make the demands," he remarked after I stood directly in front of him. "Isn't the guy supposed to make the first move?"

"...Okay, I'm going to pretend that you didn't just say that. Anyways, I just came out here to ask something."

"And what would that be? Don't tell me! You're professing your love! As awesome as I may be, I've only known you for a week, so-"

Ugh, maybe this was a bad idea. I should've expected his attitude, but his confidence shot up to new levels when we were alone.

"No," I interceded, eyes narrowing. "I want to know what exactly I'm not able to see."

Killua scoffed, obviously disappointed with my request. "That's lame. Don't tell me I came all the way out here to answer that." He paused, looking thoughtful for a few moments. I averted my eyes from his arms, trying to focus on the brick wall beside him instead. "Which, by the way, I'm not going to answer."

How was I supposed to respond to that?

"Why?"

"You'll have to find it out on your own. You can't see anything next to me, can you?"

My eyes flickered to where he was pointing, but I could only see the wall of the shop. Was he pulling a prank on me?

"..."

"Exactly. It's too early, so I would suggest that you just-"

"You know, don't you?"

"Know what?"

"Know that when I tried to get a job- my first job as a Hunter- they said I was missing something important." I lowered my gaze, slowly connecting everything.

He probably looked smug right now. "Bingo."

Raising my eyes, his own emeralds bore into my own. There was something in the slight tug of his lips and the inner meaning of his stare that made me feel helpless. I felt like an idiot in his presence. He knew all along.

"BUT before you jump to any conclusions, this isn't some conspiracy against you. Don't over think it. The world doesn't revolve around you. Every Hunter has to go through this. Me and Gon did, too." His features softened as he waited for me to reply.

If only I knew what to say. I knew that he was a Hunter, and since he was, Gon had to be, too. It was never a topic that I had asked about, but it was obvious.

I tugged at the fabric of my shirt, gradually feeling hotter. "I think it's comical that you knew that I was about to overthink it."

"Was I wrong?"

"No. That's why it's funny." I tried to make the situation lighter, trying to understand as I pieced everything together. Should I be more assertive? "But seriously. Tell me what I'm missing. What I can't see."

He gave a measly shake of his head. "No way. If I do that, then you'll demand more, and it'll escalate. Can't you be patient?"

That wasn't what I expected him to say. I stared at him harder, mouth and brows curving down. "...Please?"

"No."

"Pleeeeaaasseeee?"

His mouth twitched as he took out the lollipop stick and tossed it into a nearly trashcan. It went in easily. "You're sacrificing a lot of your dignity right now, aren't you? I commend your efforts."

"You seriously won't tell me?"

"Glad we're on the same page." He focused on the sidewalk as I hardened my gaze. "Just wait a few more days. Then you'll know."

"So you'll tell me?"

"In a few days. That was my plan all along."

"..."

"What?"

"Couldn't you have just said that in the first place?" I pouted, trying to calm myself. He was so, so irritating, and he knew it. He only looked smug as he shook his head, claiming that there was no fun in that.

Muffling his yawn, Killua turned to me. "There's a reason you're in the dark. It's the same reason the public's in the dark, too. There's a reason you don't know, and NO, I'm not going to explain."

Everything felt still as I listened. Countless people walked past us, making me feel smaller than I had felt before. I was being arrogant, taking Killua's own role.

"Okay," I finally announced. "Okay."

This was anticlimactic.

* * *

**Author's Notes: It's been a week in story since Kilua and Era met! 3 This was a difficult chapter to write. It introduces Era's true fear of getting close to anyone solely for the reason that if she gets close, she might change her mind about the person.  
**

**Originally, in the park scene, she was supposed to find Killua there, but I wanted to develop her relationship with other people as well. In lots of fanfictions, I've noticed that it's the main character developing something with Killua/Gon/Kurapika/Leorio etc, but is isolated to everyone else. I want Era to break down her own walls and befriend everyone else, too.**

**Oh! And the romance in this story won't be going agonizingly slow, but it won't go super fast either. Expect some fluff next chapter though. C:**


	5. Tart Tales

**Author's Notes: This was such a fun chapter to write. :D Hope you guys like it as well!  
AnonymouslyFab: Oh, you don't have to worry about Era turning out to be a Specialist! The idea passed over me, but then I know that concepts like that are usually overused. I actually picked out her Nen type a long time ago (using Hisoka's method ;D).**

**OH, and for all you lovely people out there, reviewer kouhas has drawn such a wonderful picture of Nuly! ;w; It's linked in my profile. You should all definitely check it out because it captures Nuly perfect. :D**

* * *

**g-e-n-u-i-n-e  
****l-i-a-r-s**

_5: Tart Tales_

* * *

"Now look at me. What do you see?"

"Um. You have white hair, kind of like you're old. You're awkwardly pale-"

"You're really bad at this," Killua deadpanned.

Minutes ago, we had met in front of the candy shop after my shift ended. In the few days that Killua told me to wait for his explanation, seconds ticked by slowly. Ever since Nuly's departure, even though she wasn't here long, life seemed to go by slower. We hadn't been in contact at all either- my texts failed to go through and my calls led me to a robotic voice that would repeat: "We apologize. The number you are trying to reach is out of service or disconnected. Please dial XXX and press X for further assistance."

It was almost like she had fallen off the world. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried, but it's more likely that she's out of service.

Today- Friday- proved to be colder than the days before. I wasn't too sure why Killua and I were outside in the park (which turned out to be the same park I met Kurapika in, nostalgically), but my face was slowly freezing off. He sat on the mulch in front of me as I leaned forward on the swingset, twisting the fabric of my jacket around a finger. When we had gotten to the park and taken our positions, he had asked that question of what I could see from him.

I replied with an equally dead stare, but he wasn't looking. He was staring straight up to the musky blue sky. "What else do you want me to say?" Our voices were quiet. It seemed appropriate.

His expression stayed blank, eyes still trained on the sky. "No, no. That'll work. I can't believe you think I look old and awkward though."

Maybe in another situation, he would have responded with something witty, but this time, he didn't. I leaned back in my swing, trying to find what he found so interesting up above. Maybe he liked the color? The sky was a strange gradient, going from a baby blue to a light gray.

"I could lie and say that I don't think you are."

"Lame."

We sat in silence for a bit more. I was eager to hear what he had to say, but similar to Kurapika, I knew that pushing him would benefit neither of us. It was lucky that I had even gotten Killua out here. He could have easily stood up and said that he was bored, tired, or just didn't want to deal with me.

Which I would understand. I was getting annoyed with myself recently, too.

Then Killua stood up, gesturing to the area around him. "We humans-" He paused at his own words, eyes glossing over with something I didn't recognize. "Or, no… okay, um. Lots of people and things have life energy called aura. Aura is needed, to, uh, live. Survive."

I wasn't sure where he was going with this, so I merely nodded. "Oookay?"

He looked frustrated with his words. "Ugh, I'm not too sure how to explain this to someone like you. No offense."

"None taken?" I questioned, though his words were pretty offending.

He looked thoughtful with his fingers brushing against his chin, brows furrowed down. Intense concentration. I could've sworn that he was trying to figure out how to word or explain something.

"Anyways, the controlling and manipulation of aura is known as… Nen. People like me- pro hunters- can do this. Nen is what you're missing. People like me can see aura, but people like you can't. The general public is vaguely unknowledgeable about the topic of Nen. It's a dangerous concept."

"Why's that?"

Killua peered at me as if I asked something dumb. Was my question that dumb?

"Aura is _life energy_." I probably still looked confused. Arrogance sighed, shrugging as he held two fingers up. I suddenly felt a warm, prickly sensation come over me. I didn't try to hold back my surprise. It was soft, like a restless fluid washing over me. The feeling faded after Killua closed his hand into a fist.

Nen. This is what I'd been missing.

* * *

_"Meditate every day when you have time. Do it when you get home. 5 minutes."_

Easier said than done. I sat on my bed, breathing deeply as I tried to follow his guidelines. It was hardly helpful. I could hear all the small things: The slight creaking of my mattress, the bark of the dogs outside, the crying of a baby a few rooms over. Yorknew was a city that never slept. There was too much going on, too much to hear and see. Meditating in this kind of environment would be impossible.

I relaxed from my position and fell back, legs hanging off the side of the bed. Maybe it was a mistake to learn about Nen. I had told Nuly, against her desires, that I would wait until she became a Hunter to start obtaining jobs. Sure, this wasn't _technically_ a job, but it was the precursor. Same thing. She didn't want me to wait though. It was fear that held me back, and I knew it. I was okay with being fearful. There was too much I didn't understand.

My hand lingered over my phone. It had nearly been 2 minutes, but this wasn't going anywhere.

I should call Killua.

That actually sounded dreadful. It would be a blow to my pride, and he'd be sure to tease me about how I couldn't even relax enough to meditate. Then again, I had taken numerous blows to my pride from him already.

The screen of my phone lit up. I was smart enough to finally change the setting from "ringtone" to "silence" just in case it went off during the meditation. Turns out that it was useless, seeing as I couldn't meditate in the slightest.

_From: Killuarrogance  
__hows it going?_

_To: Killuarrogance  
__Good. It's going fantastic_

I didn't think twice as I hit send, just grateful to be away from meditation. Ironically, meditating only made me more anxious.

_From: Killuarrogance  
__You fail. if it really was going 'fantastic' you wouldnt have responded_

It was insane that Killua was smart. Ugh, I should've thought it through and just not responded in the first place. I guess I didn't technically have to respond to this message either, but that would be the equivalent of running away.

_From: Killuarrogance  
__Park_

Technically, I didn't reply since he sent another text before I could. He was calling me to the park to lecture, yell, or help. Maybe all three. I didn't have to show up, but I figured the consequences would be much worse if I didn't.

I slid my phone into my pocket and a jacket over my arms. It was probably still just as cold as it was this morning.

Leaving my apartment, I noted that I was correct. It had gotten colder, if that was even possible. I longed for that feeling of warmth that Killua had shown me. Would I be able to do that, too? Controlling my own aura?

Gon must've known Nen, too. It was difficult to tell who was stronger. From my point, I felt like Gon had more raw strength, but Killua was better in tactics. Or was it the other way around? Regardless, they evened each other out. It was a good pair.

Killua held a hand up as I approached. "Hey, does Gon know Nen, too?" I asked, though I knew the answer.

He scoffed, nodding. "His Nen is insane. Anyways, you can't meditate?"

I shouldn't have been surprised that he brought the conversation back right away. Sighing, I gave a small nod. He shook his head, fake disappointment covering his features as he led me next to a tree.

"Sit."

I obliged.

"Close your eyes."

I closed them.

"Block out everything."

Okay, this part was harder. I could make out the footsteps from far away, the slight chirping of the birds. The laugh of children, the bells. My left brow twitched, and I wasn't sure how I was supposed to ignore the ever growing presence of the city around me.

He probably realized that this was the part where I was having trouble. I could feel Killua's figure scooting me forward as he sat behind me. "This is supposed to help relieve you of stress, not the other way around," he whispered, his breath heavy on my neck. "Relax."

His presence only made it harder. My shoulders tensed, but only until he ran his fingers along my shoulder blades and made them go down to their normal position. It was still cold, but with my focus on my breath and his presence behind me, it didn't seem as bad.

"You know," Killua breathed, making it harder to focus, "Meditation is supposed to help you focus, make you happier, and improve your memory…" His fingers were just barely there; They were just barely brushing my shoulders, moving down my arms and to my fingertips. Chills ran down my body. It was a combination of bliss, annoyance, and another feeling that I couldn't pinpoint. "Follow your breath. Focus on that instead of your surroundings."

I took a deep breath, trying to do as he said. "You're making this harder."

"I know." His voice was soft.

He kept his palms situated on my back, barely touching me. Slowly, I began to relax. I dropped my head, eyes still closed as I focused. Don't contemplate the background noise. Don't worry about Killua.

"Do you… feel calm?" His voice was just below a whisper, quiet enough that only I could hear. His fingers ran over the fabric of my jacket, up to the base of my neck. "It's been two minutes."

"Yes." Has it only been a handful of minutes like he said? It felt like longer, but maybe that was just because of Killua situated behind me. Like he said, I focused on my breath. Deep breath. In, then out. Focus on it leaving. _Don't focus on how Killua's touching you._

I tensed for another second when I felt him scooting me closer. He did the same thing; Running his figures over my shoulder blades, my shoulders cascading down to their original position. "Actually… I think I'm making it easier for you."

_Ignore him._ That was a lie. It was actually getting harder to focus on myself to ignore him.

I could feel Killua's presence scooting away, and in seconds, he was gone. He was enormous, leaving a giant gap behind be. Opening my eyes, my face turned up to look at him.

"Don't freak out!" he warned, squatting in the area in front of me. He stared with an intent gaze. "But I'm not going to teach you actual Nen until you're calmer."

Wait, what?

"See," he continued, giving an exaggerated sigh, "You're really paranoid. And I'm not completely sure how to teach it at the moment, I mean when did _I_ become a _teacher?_ Sure, I'd probably be better than Gon, but-"

"You're ranting." Maybe it was the meditation, but I wasn't freaking out. This was okay, though. I never seemed paranoid around others unless they got to know me. Blinking, I wondered if I was closer to Nuly and Gon and Killua than I had originally planned for.

Killua just sighed again, falling onto his back. "Yeah. Well, the meditation isn't completely useless. Gon and I did something similar when we were twelve."

"...You guys learned Nen when you were… twelve?"

He gave that sly, arrogant smile that I hadn't seen in days. "We passed the Hunter Exam when we were twelve. Or… I would've, but then I killed a guy, and… it's complicated."

Dumbfounded and mouth open, I just continued to stare in disbelief. When they were _twelve_, Gon passed the exam, and Killua killed a guy. Fantastic. I'm 17 and passed after three tries, which was still a bit unbelievable. But for them to have… I mentally slapped myself. Don't overthink it.

"But you ended up getting your License, right?"

"Duh! I ended up wiping everyone out the next year. I was the only one to pass the First Phase, soo I won." He looked so cheeky, so smug right now. It made my accomplishment feel small in comparison. "Would it be bad if I mentioned that there were around 1500 applicants?"

"You're so cocky that it's disgusting."

He laughed and stuck his tongue out as me. "As if! What about you? How'd you end up passing?"

I put the palms of my hands together, chin rested on my fingers. "I wouldn't have passed without Nuly. I'm 17, right? I first entered when I was 15, then 16. Failed both times." Killua watched me, staying silent as I talked. "The first phase was a puzzle. A string of riddles. Nuly's smarter than she looks. We teamed up and made it past that phase. The number of applicants dropped from 500 to 300." My eyes closed. "Honestly, she could've made it without me." She was too nice, willing to help me out even though we both knew that there was a possibility of us becoming enemies in the later stages.

Brows furrowed, Killua spoke in a monotone voice. "And then?" It sounded more like a statement then a question.

"Phase two happened. Random partners were assigned. A group of three vs a group of three. I guess I was able to hold out my own. I'm not too strong, but I guess I was agile enough to dodge." I paused, reminiscing on the memory. "One person from each trio passed depending on their performance. I guess it was impressive that I got out unscatched, though it was mainly me just trying to run away." Flashbacks of the phase, of my life flashing before my eyes as one of my opponents tried thrusting his lance into my side, me just barely dodging it, hit me hard. "I don't think the examiners realized that I was just scared."

"You're lame, you know that?"

"Not any lamer than you." I ceased speaking, but Killua waved for me to continue. "Well, so there were around 100 applicants left, right? I was one. Nuly was one. Phase three was a game of hide and seek. Like two preteens were the examiners. Crazy, right? Well, we went by aircraft to this dense forest where we had to stay hidden for two hours. There were around 20 people searching for us. If we were found, we would be disqualified. Nuly helped me there, too."

I remember Nuly latching onto my wrist, rushing me to the lake. I remember telling her how there was no way I'd be able to do that since holding my breath would be impossible for 2 hours. I remember her reassuring me that it would be fine. We hid in the lake, though it was closer to mud than water. The thick leaves of a fallen tree had covered us, and when we heard someone approaching, we would fall deeper into the water. The mud became our skin, our hair, our clothes. We completed the phase successfully, mud coating every part of our bodies.

"It was… so muddy. We were the dirtiest ones to succeed, but we did. Surprisingly, there were around 40ish applicants left. It was less than expected."

Killua's eyes were trained on me, nodding or saying "uh huh" as I recalled my Hunter Exam. Our positions had shifted in such a way that we were shoulder to shoulder, but similar to the meditation, we were both just barely brushing up against one another. It was casual, like how close you'd think two friends would be.

"Then… then came Phase 4. This time, we had individual matches against one another. I prayed that I wouldn't have to face Nuly, and luckily, my prayers were answered. I ended up having to fight a rookie. He was a young adult, somewhere in his 20s." I shivered, remembering the look on his face. "He was creepy beyond belief. I remember the time before the fight. He began by naming off things he wanted to do to me- sadistic things."

Killua scoffed, nudging me with his arm. "Do you know Johness the Dissector?"

"Who doesn't? Isn't he dead?"

"I had to kill him when I was 12 during one of the phases." His comment answered my question.

I pulled my legs up, wrapping my arms around them as I set my chin on my knees. "Killing must come natural to you." My reply was neither a compliment nor an insult, but it definitely wasn't something I'd be proud of. Killua's tight smile was unreadable.

The breeze picked up. I held my hair down, tucking it into my hood so it wouldn't hit Killua. Killua just continued to stare ahead at something that I couldn't see. At something that probably wasn't there.

Then he spoke.

"You know, I'm one of the Zoldycks."

My breath hitched. I turned to look at him, surprised to see his eyes meet mine. I automatically shut them and buried my head into my knees. It wasn't that surprising. After everything I'd seen, after everything he'd said, it didn't come as a shock that he was part of the famous, ruthless assassin family.

"You know, it would be more surprising if you weren't a Zoldyck," I admitted, turning my head up to look at him after a few thoughtful moments. His features weren't clear, eyes saying something I didn't understand.

"You should be scared."

Fear was one of the strongest emotions. It could stop you in your tracks, make you a fool. It could cause you to cry tears you didn't know you had, make you want to die ten times over. It could be your greatest enemy and your greatest ally. It was possible to be there without your realization.

I knew for a fact that fear was my largest demotivator. I've fallen victim to fear more times than I should have. I've gotten paranoid. I've been a coward.

But if there was one thing I knew, it was that I wasn't afraid of Killua.

My shoulders were hunched as I let out a breath I didn't realize I was keeping in. I should have been scared. Killua killed at least two people during the Hunter Exam, injured someone in the night, and killed an infinite more number of people because of his trade.

The night that I couldn't sleep flashed through my mind- the night when I saw him attacking the man. He knew I was there, but kept his calm. I was terrified that night, and he knew it. He even reassured me. The only thing scary about that scenario was that it was only a handful of days ago. How could fear change, morphing into something similar to respect, in a matter of days?

"Hey, don't overthink it!" He whacked the back of my head. It was also scary how accurate that was. I often kept my thoughts to myself, then Killua came and barged in on them. "Continue." I only kept staring at him. "Continue with the Exam!"

"Okay, okay, geez!" Sighing, I ran a hand through my locks as I tried to figure out where I had left off. "Right. Um, the individual fights. Applicant 221, my opponent. I mean, he had to have been somewhat strong to have made it to that phase. He wasn't. The examiners provided us the most grotesque weapons they could get ahold of. To win, we had to kill the other person, make them give up, or do enough damage until the examiners thought we'd done enough. The battle wasn't over until the examiner said so, so it was a complete blood bath."

"Sounds morbid," Killua commented. "Guts and blood everywhere?"

"Oh yeah. It was sick."

Killua scoffed, throwing his head back. "I can't exactly see you being the kind to brutally murder someone. How'd you win?"

I hung my head, trying to come up with the right words. "See… that's the issue. I'm not sure how I won. I had barely scratched him when the examiner said 'that's enough' and declared me as the winner."

"Maybe you did more damage than you thought?"

I shook my head. "No… all I remember is feeling so… so angry towards him. In the trio matches, he completely tore up his allies and enemies the same. And I guess the way he was describing me, as if I would just let him rip me apart, angered me, which was strange. I know I'm weak. He basically called me weak, and usually it wouldn't have been a problem, but I… I don't know."

"Huh." He tapped his lower lip, free hand subconsciously picking at the grass. "At least you won though, right?"

"...That was when Nuly lost."

"So?"

"It wasn't fair! She was the only reason I had made it that fair. Even with the blood pouring down her chin, she didn't admit defeat. I was watching her match, and she could've won. She should've. But then the examiner made the call, and she lost. The way she lost was too simple." The next part was the worst. "I… I remember her turning towards me, smile still intact on her face. She told me she was sorry for not making it. Shouldn't I have been the one that was sorry?"

Killua stayed silent as he traced swirls into the grass. I held onto myself tightly, not sure of why I was exposing how I felt during that time. I wasn't sure why I had been telling the truth the whole time, and it was a strange feeling to let it out.

Then again, I could've lied about it. I could've lied about everything, and I could've made myself seem like less of a coward. But it was too late, and now Killua knew how I wasn't meant to have passed.

"Continue."

"What?"

"With the exam. What happened in the next phase?"

It surprised me that he still wanted to know the tale of how I managed to become a Hunter. I didn't deserve the License. I hadn't completed the trial by myself. I had just been tagging along behind Nuly.

"Stop thinking and talk, woman!"

"Okay, okay!" That was one way to force me out of my thoughts. I searched through my memories for the next phase. "Well, the next one was easy. I think everyone had enough gore and blood to last a lifetime, so… we had to do something similar to the first phase. We got a lot of information and were told to memorize it. Then the examiner played out certain scenarios, and we had to just give correct information and stuff. Fighting was minimal. 14 applicants passed, and I was one of them. We became Hunters. The end."

Except it wasn't, and we both knew it. I slid onto the ground, staring up at the sky, unsure of what to say. Killua was in the same position with his hands clasped together.

He joined me, sliding onto his back. "Examiners are Pro Hunters." I knew that. "If they called you the victor, then you did something right. Or maybe your opponent just did something wrong. Do you beat yourself up about this a lot?" He could tell.

"No," I lied. We simultaneously turned to face one another, Killua just shaking his head. "Okay, maybe?"

"Well that's dumb. Don't do it. And stop worrying about Nuly not passing. She was a rookie, anyways. She'll pass for sure next year."

"I know, but…"

"No. No buts. It gets annoying."

I smiled inwardly, staring at the ground in front of me. Killua could be cruel and brusque, but in a good way. It didn't make much sense, but nothing seemed to make any sense as of late. When days ago, I would've been scared to be this close to him, I felt safer than ever.

Slowly, I lifted my gaze. "You're a big softie."

"W-What?!" Mouth curved down, eyes wide, Killua was the definition of flustered. It was actually pretty funny how fast he lost his composure.

I laughed at his reaction, nudging him with my elbow. "You just became super lame."

His eyes narrowing, he 'pffted' and turned away. "Of all people, _you_ can't say that."

These were the moments I wish I could reminisce on.

* * *

I continued to wake up in the middle of the night. Instead of leaving the comfort of my room, I decided to relax. Overthinking was bad.

Meditating was easier in the dead of the night. Few noises were distracting, and for the ones that were, I heeded Killua's words and focused on myself and my breathing. In and out. In and out. Killua was convinced that I couldn't be taught Nen without being able to remain in a state of calm. He stated that aura and emotions were directly linked, so I would be saving myself a lot of trouble by working on calming my nerves now instead of later.

He was right. It helped a lot, and I found myself falling to sleep quicker after waking up. Sometimes I would be meditating in bed, and the next thing I knew, I'd be asleep.

Work became easier, too. The last hour of my shift when customers rarely appeared, I was able to pinpoint my nerves and soothe them.

More than once, Killua caught me in this state.

Saturday night, he had texted me, but I didn't reply until Sunday morning. I had been practicing what he told me to, then fell into a deep slumber. It was one of the few times that I didn't wake up in the middle of the night.

Then during Monday, after switching back to my evening shift, he had caught me with my forehead resting on the counter in front of me, arms situated in my lap. Apparently a customer had been trying to get my attention for a few minutes, but I didn't move. From Killua's perspective, it went like this:

_"You were like sleeping during work. And the nerdy guy with the glasses that usually comes in was poking you and worried. I told him I'd take care of it, so I checked him out and took his money. Since you know, a dumbbell could do your job."_

Then I had woken up long after closing, Killua's head resting on my own head. I wasn't sure how he got the idea of my skull being a _pillow_, but it was nearly an hour after 9pm when I awoke. I pulled my head back, Killua's own head landing on the counter with a _thud_.

I may or may not have left him there. He got out for certain though, the evidence being the angry string of texts I received a few hours later.

So on Tuesday, I made sure to stay on alert.

Fewer customers passed through than usual. The voluptuous girl, the nerdy guy, and only a handful more actually bought anything.

Then the door opened, and two familiar faces popped in.

"Oh, Killua and Gon were right. She _does_ work here." Kurapika eyed me from afar, scanning over the merchandise on the various shelves. "This doesn't look like your kind of job, Era."

Wait a second. Did this mean that Kurapika knew Gon and Killua? The thought had never crossed my mind. What were the chances of that actually happening?

I hadn't seen Kurapika in about a week during my visit to the park. I owed him a lot for that conversation because it… opened my eyes in a way. "Nice to see you again, too, Kurapika."

My eyes flittered over to the older guy wearing a nice suit, briefcase in one hand as he vigorously rubbed his chin in search of something he was looking for. "May I help you, sir?"

Not-Gon's-Dad (as lack for a better term and since I forgot his actual name) turned, making a ridiculous face. "Sir sounds too formal! Seeing as you've been stealing the attention of two of my best friends, why not just call me by name?"

Cue frown. I looked between Not-Gon's-Dad and Kurapika, trying to come up with a response. What was I supposed to say? Sorry, but I don't remember your name?

Kurapika sighed, nudging me as he whispered something in my ear. "His name's Leorio."

I gave a nod to Kurapika, my sign of thanks. Leorio was still staring at me, waiting for an answer. "O-Oh, yeah! Of course, Le..orio…?"

Leorio nodded to himself, walking forward to the counter. Kurapika leaned against it as well, his back facing me. "So, what all has Killua taught you about Nen?"

Did they both come in just to ask that? Okay, they definitely were both connected to my arrogant friend.

"Um, the basics." It came out sounding like a question.

Kurapika opened his eyes to look at me. "So I take it that you know Ten?"

"Ten?"

Leorio shook his head and stared at his companion. "Killua's been taking it slow. I'm impressed that he hasn't just shot her with his own aura."

I had no idea what was going on.

"Well, it's about time for closing," I fibbed, even though I was supposed to leave the shop open for another 10 minutes. Both of them just stared at me, Leorio shrugging as he dumped a bar onto the counter.

"Mind checking this out for me first?"

* * *

**Author's Notes: Wow, there's a scene next chapter that I'm suuuper excited to write! I almost put it at the end of this chapter, but I wasn't sure how long it would be. The Killua/Era scene in this chapter was also something I was looking forward to, and it ended up taking a majority of the chapter.**

**There's a poll on my profile regarding this story and who'd you like to see in it.  
**

**Please vote and review. C: Thanks for everything, guys. I'm having a blast writing this. I hope one day to have a SYOH, probably for Era's Exam (before all this happens).**


	6. Bittersweet

**Author's Note: Late chapter is late. This was the hardest chapter to write yet, so I'm sorry at how long it took me to update.**

* * *

**g-e-n-u-i-n-e  
l-i-a-r-s  
**

_6: Bittersweet_

* * *

I'm not sure how it happened, but Killua and his posse were sitting on the floor of my workplace, huddled in a corner, playing cards.

"Gon, do you have any fours?"

"Go fish, Leorio!" Gon cackled, laughing as Leorio drew a card from the center. Killua nonchalantly eyed Leorio's cards from his spot, earning an eye roll from me.

"Killua's cheating," I commented as I took money from a customer. It was the same boy that had found me in a state of meditation days ago, leaving Killua to check him out instead. The boy pushed his glasses up, giving me a small smile. "Thanks for coming! Please come again!" I chimed.

"I'm glad you're doing well, by the way," he remarked, pushing his glasses back up higher on his nose bridge. Nodding, he didn't say anything more as he left.

Leorio gasped, scooting as far from Killua as he could. Pouting, Killua shot me a glare. "Really? You didn't have to say that!"

I gestured to the pile of candy wrappers that littered around him. He had been sucking on lollipops, binging on chocolate bars, and popping candy drops into his mouth for the past hour. "I'm not on your side until you clean that up _and_ pay for them."

He merely scoffed, Kurapika shaking his head as the game continued.

This was a foreign event to me. Because of my upbringing, isolated with only my family, the idea of having this many friends was strange. My parents had friends who visited on occasion with their children, but calling them friends would be a stretch. None of them were my age; I was always years older or younger. I suppose that there was one boy named Kion who would be closest to being my friend, but I hadn't seen him in years. Kion also wanted to be a Hunter… I wonder how he was doing.

I glanced over to the game. Gon was laughing hysterically, and I could tell he was winning by the pile of cards in front of him. Kurapika had his eyes closed, snickering at the eldest member. Leorio was freaking out, giving Killua (who _still_ hadn't picked up the wrappers or payed for them!) a chance to peak. As if he knew I'd see, he turned to my direction, giving a cocky smile as he placed a finger over his lips.

Sighing, I looked elsewhere, eyes trained on the window. It's not like Killua had any chance of winning. Gon was in the lead by far, Kurapika in second. He was winning against Leorio, not that that was an accomplishment. I gave him the benefit and kept quiet.

"Ahahah! I win!" Gon shrieked to Leorio's dismay. The latter of the two groaned, rolling onto his back.

Maybe it was an exaggeration to say that Leorio was a friend. I had only just memorized his name. Regardless, this was the first time a friend of my friend hung around, I guess. Same thing. Still, I was happy that he was here. Killua acted differently around all of them than around me, but that was to be expected. He had probably known them for years longer than he had known me. After all, it's only been two weeks since we first met. In days, we became friends. That encounter helped me in more ways than I could say.

"Nice job, Gon." I sent him a thumbs up, tossing him one of the candy bars in the bin besides me. "It's on the house."

"Really?" Gon turned to me, smiling widely. "Thanks, Era!"

He was such a pure, innocent person... like Nuly. I wondered what was behind that smile; What he really had endured in the past. He was so strong. He and Killua had to have gotten that power somewhere. As for Leorio and Kurapika, I wasn't completely sure. Kurapika seemed to have power as well, but I wasn't as certain about Leorio. Since they were all friends, it wouldn't be surprising if they all ended up having ten times my strength.

Killua was sending me some sort of glare as Kurapika spoke. "Well, it's getting late. Leorio and I have to head out and deal with the... preparations for next week." He paused, features softening for a second. Blinking, when he reopened his eyes, he returned to normal. "We'll see you around."

The door shut, leaving me, Gon, and Killua in silence. Something I didn't understand crossed over both their faces as they stared at the door. I didn't know what the 'preparations' were, but everyone else did. It wasn't my business.

Gon returned to normal faster than Killua. "Ne, Era? How come you work here?"

It was a question that I got a lot. Compared to Nuly and Killua, I didn't like the processed, sugary grossness of sweets. The same way a vegetarian wouldn't work at a butcher shop, it must've looked strange for me to work here.

"I know I hate sweets and all, but… Well, it was hiring, and I needed a job." It was a half-truth.

"Because you couldn't get a job as a Hunter, right?" Gon had a sheepish smile, Killua's smirk slowly growing.

"You told them!?"

Killua just shrugged, finally picking up the individual wrappers that littered the floor. Gon stood up, leaning against the counter as he shook his head.

"I didn't. I told them that you didn't know Nen, which they basically figured out themselves. And it's common knowledge that Hunters can't get jobs without knowing it." He looked smug as he balled the wrappers into balls, tossing them into the trash one at a time. They each went in without an issue.

Without a response, I sighed and turned my attention to Gon. He was sucking on the candy that I had tossed him, glancing between Killua and I. Now that I looked closer, it was hard not to notice that they were both… fairly attractive, similar to Kurapika. Not that I hadn't noticed before, but up close it was blatantly obvious.

Killua had fallen back to the floor, arms and legs stretched out. His eyes were closed, making him look peaceful. He was wearing one of his vests, so his arms were exposed.

"Era, you're staring," Gon whispered, nudging me with his elbow.

Flustered and embarrassed for being caught, I quickly averted my gaze. Awkward.

"Hey, Gon, mind stepping out for a few minutes?" Killua's emeralds stared directly at Gon. Gon nodded, tossing his trash where it belonged, before heading to the door. "There's chocolate on your face, by the way!"

The door shut.

Still on his back, Killua tilted his head up to face me. "Come here."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Gon was peering inside from the window. Eyes trained on him, I slowly leaned down, hands held out. "First, pay up. And pay for Gon's candy bar, too, since you're irritating." Okay, so it was on Killua, not the house.

Killua pffted and jammed his hand into his pocket, pouting as he retrieved a fair amount of Jenny. I caught it before it slammed into my face. "Keep the change," he muttered, "since I'll be taking more than this, anyways."

Sighing, I was about to stand to deposit it into the register, but Killua tugged on my wrist, keeping me from moving far. I cocked an eyebrow at him, but his expression remained unchanged.

"What-"

Taking advantage of my speech, he took the opportunity to shove a piece of chocolate into my mouth. Alarmed, I tried to spit it out, but he held a hand over my mouth to keep it in.

"Do you know how to eat? Chew and swallow. Wait, do you know how to do that? Should I demonstrate?" I only continued to glare. It made me feel dumb as I actually did chew and swallow it.

Ugh, he was so smug! It was probably a strange sight. One of Killua's hands were wrapped around my wrist, pulling me a foot above his head. His head was tilted to the side, his other hand covering my mouth. Then there I was, looking alarmed as I ate the chocolate he forced into me.

After confirming that I ate it all, I scooted back and glared hard at him. "What was-"

He cut me off. "Was it good?"

"What?"

"The chocolate?"

"I…" Gulping, I trained my eyes on the shelves besides him. My mouth still tasted bittersweet. "That was dark chocolate. It doesn't count."

"Oh, you could tell?" Of course I could tell. Dark chocolate was the only thing sweet that I could tolerate, and it wasn't even that sweet. He grinned, arms stretching the wrapper as he read the label. "90% dark chocolate. What's in the other 10 percent?"

Gon was still eyeing us from the window. I held out a hand to gesture him in, pretty disappointed that Killua only wanted to shove a piece of candy into my mouth. I was expecting some sort of "You're ready!". Maybe it was dumb to expect him to teach me Nen that quickly.

Killua stood up once Gon entered. At once, they both exited, Gon being the only one to say goodbye.

One single candy wrapper littered where Killua was sitting moments earlier.

* * *

I wasn't too sure of my actions as of late.

For instance, right now I sat on the park bench, legs pulled up as I watched several kids run across the playground. It was an intense game of tag. When the person who was 'it' called "Timeout", the other children merely slowed, yet didn't come to complete stops. Though 'it' promised that they actually were on "Timeout", the remainder of the children kept their distance.

Glancing at my phone, the silence of it felt foreign. I kind of missed when Killua bombarded my phone with spam, as ironic as it sounded. Nuly, too, but she was currently MIA in my mind.

Tag resumed on the playground. One girl screeched as the finger of 'it' grazed her shoulder. 'It' claimed that he had gotten her fair and square, but the girl defended that he hadn't.

Maybe I should call my father.

The girl ran away to the swings, yelling that she wasn't it. The remainder of the kids told her to stop being a baby and just be 'it'. The game of tag resumed with one person less.

Or my brother.

My fingers hovered over my brother's icon, wondering what he was doing at this very moment. He wanted to be a Hunter, too, but he never once tried to enter the Exam. He was scrawny and felt that he didn't have the physical prowess to pass, especially after the stories I told him of how I shouldn't have made it though. Regardless, he and Nuly were similar in stature. I didn't doubt that with training, he'd be able to make it, but what meaning did my words hold? I wasn't supposed to become a Hunter- without Nuly, of course.

Flashbacks of Killua teaching me to meditate, on him assuring me that it wasn't my fault that Nuly hadn't passed, clouded my mind. It felt like yesterday that he told me this, but in reality, it had been almost a week. And still, every time I asked if I was calm enough, he shook his head and made me promise to wait a few days.

Glancing back up at the children, I noted that the girl who had lingered by the swings had returned, but they had stopped playing tag. Now, they sat in a circle, one of them walking around the circumference as they talked.

Hesitantly, I hit a button on my phone and brought it up to my ear. It rang twice before a lazy voice on the other end droned a quick greeting.

"Darin." I paused. He made a noise. "Hey."

My brother stayed quiet for a few seconds before responding. "E-Era?"

"Hey," I repeated.

"Hi."

An awkward silence commenced. Gosh, was everyone in my family like this? Darin and I, even though we were siblings, rarely had casual conversation. My family was one that was independent of one another. After we both passed the age of 8, dinner became whatever you could make or scavenge from the pantry. Dinner for me was usually sitting on the floor of my room, laptop in hand, as I ate a bowl of oatmeal. Maybe an apple. The bottom line is that our family lacked the engaging social event of dinner.

Mom was never home, always on missions. She was a Contract Hunter, and as such, was less of a motherly figure and more of a figure with a name. Somehow, she was still my inspiration, helping me train whenever needed. Dad usually ate in his workshop, which is what I did for a while too before realizing that I started ingesting smoke with every meal. My grandparents never left their beds unless I begged them to help me train. They weren't bedridden, but they 'never had the energy to get up' (direct quote), even though they were both Hunters.

Now that I thought about it, Darin usually ate at the kitchen table at the normal time that families were supposed to eat dinner. He would sit there, nothing occupying his time except his low quality meal, like he was waiting for one of us to come and eat with him. He always gave the invitation, but none of us took it.

"I… I've gotta go," he finally announced. Noises on the other end, the clanking of something hitting the floor. "It was nice talking to you." It was anything but.

Maybe that was why it was this awkward right now. I could've been closer to my brother, but I wasn't. I wasn't startled as he hung up, neither of us saying goodbye. I wouldn't categorize my family as messed up, or broken; We were still a family, just different. We were just independent of the needs, the wants, and the desires of each other.

And I was okay with that.

* * *

When Saturday came, it was raining hard.

I ran as fast as my legs would take me, breathing heavily as the rain continued to pound down on me. My clothes were soaked through, my hair stuck to my face and the back of my neck, and my breath was thinning, but I didn't care.

I must've looked mad, especially since I didn't have an umbrella with me.

But it only took one word to get me excited and run at full speed.

_From: Killuarrogance_  
_Park._

Or maybe it was the second word that caught me off guard.

_From: Killuarrogance_  
_Now._

I liked how he didn't have to specify which park out of the ton that occupied Yorknew. There was the one park close to my work that we had met in a number of times; The same one where he helped me meditate. I tried convincing myself that it was the humid rain that made my cheeks flush.

And when I approached, Killua was standing there, his back turned to me like he knew which direction I'd be coming from. I ran faster, pushing my feet harder off the ground as he slowly turned to face me.

My thoughts were simple: Killua was going to teach me Nen. After a week of meditating, I was about to learn what I was lacking. I would be able to feel that warm, prickly sensation that Killua had caused to pass over me, but this time, I'd be able to do it myself. Just knowing about Nen and how I was one of the few who knew what Nen was made me feel… special.

But when Killua turned to face me, my steps slowed. He wore a simple black v-neck, sleeves pushed up around his elbows. Plain white pants and combat boots adorned his lower half. His hair stuck to his face, but for some reason, it didn't look off. What looked off to me was his expression. It was a mix of fear, relief, frustration, and… anger?

"Era." His voice was calm, and something about it striked me as odd. Just as I was about to greet him in response, he shook his head, making me go silent. "I can't teach you Nen."

Silence. I continued to stare at him, not really grasping what he was saying. "What…"

"I can't teach you Nen," he repeated, sighing louder than needed.

"What."

"I. Can't. Teach. You. Nen."

"What."

And then what he was saying hit me. He hadn't called me out here to raise my hopes up of finally learning Nen. He had called me out here to crush those hopes (okay, slightly exaggerating here, but).

I pushed my hair back over my shoulders, the water suddenly feeling as if it was weighing me down. I wasn't going to learn Nen. Oh.

"That's kind of disappointing," I remarked, shrugging. "It's not like I was totally looking forward to it or anything. Nope." He looked like he was about to speak, so I spoke first. "I mean, no big deal. No worries. I'll just go back to working at the candy shop, waiting for Nuly to pass her Exam. I can wait a year. That's okay, too."

No. Don't let him speak. I cut him off again.

"Like, that's what was supposed to happen, right? I wasn't even supposed to pass the exam, so why should I learn Nen? It's like me and Nuly have this unspoken agreement. I'm not getting any jobs until she passes, and this is like the prerequisite. Wouldn't I just, like, hate myself for learning Nen if I followed through?"

I was never sure how to act in these situations.

"So, it's okay. I don't want to hate myself any more, so-"

"Shut up." Catching onto what I was doing, Killua easily cut off my ranting by speaking louder than I had. He glared hard at me, seemingly angry. I was already quiet, but he repeated it. "Shut up."

Ignored. "No, no, seriously. It's fine. I'm not angry, I just-"

"Era. Shut up for a second."

Ignored. "No, no, I mean it! Learning Nen seemed fun and all, yeah, but-"

"Era. Shut up before I make you."

Ignored. I was making him angry, and I knew it. I continued to disobey his commands, not caring if I made him angrier. Someone had to be angry in this situation. Better him than me.

"Well, if this is all, then I'd best be on my way!" I let out the robotic laugh, turning on my heel to head in the opposite direction. I wasn't sure what possessed me to say the next line, but I did, and it only made Killua even angrier. "Thanks for coming! Please come again!"

And when I began walking, strangely feeling alone, I knew I was home free when Killua didn't follow. I didn't have to turn around to know that he was standing in that same spot, watching my back as I retreated. I didn't realize how furious I was until my hands started shaking as I neared my apartment.

"You're passive-aggressive, huh?" Even though I had completely tricked myself into believing that Killua hadn't followed me, it didn't come as a surprise to see him leaning against the wall of the building next to my apartment. His eyes were locked on my figure as I maneuvered around him, entering the building.

I waved to one of my neighbors, ignoring their curious stare at the stalker behind me. Killua was following me, so he's now a stalker. I wasn't sure why I continued walking to my apartment, basically showing him where I lived.

Once I stood in front of my apartment door, key in hand, I turned to face him.

"Really, it's okay." I was sincere, but I forced myself not to look at him. "I'm just going to go inside and… meditate. Or sleep. Same difference."

Then I unlocked the door, sliding myself in. Killua jammed his foot in the doorway, pushing against my weight as I tried to keep him out. "Seriously, Killu-ah, what are you-!?" Grunting, I fell back onto the floor after Killua pushed with more force. He let himself into the room, shutting the door behind him.

His eyes moved from my figure to the contents around my room. "Your apartment is just as lame as I predicted it would be."

Ignoring the comment, I helped myself up, throwing my belongings onto my bed. I observed my face in the mirror, twisting my hair to wring the water out. Killua's reflection staring back at me made me return to the situation at hand.

Just as I was about to command Killua to get out, he fell back onto my bed, arms spread out over my blankets, pillows, and belongings.

"You know, my bed is the only comfy place to sleep in this apartment. The floors are too hard, and the couch is too soft. Move." I tried to keep my voice steady, raising a finger to point at the door. "Get out."

Killua only rolled over as he faked a yawn. _He was getting water all over my bed._ "No."

"Killua, I'm serious." I stayed in the same spot, still pointing at the door and glaring harder at his back. "Get out."

"No."

"Get out."

"No."

"I'll call security!" I threatened, finger still locked on the door. At this, Killua rolled back over before sitting up, shaking his hair out to wring out the water.

He stood up, leaving behind a giant damp area on my bed covers. Well, looks like that wasn't going to dry for a bit. Then he took a step forward, and in rhythm, I moved backwards. He went forward again. Repeat.

Realizing that I was in a bad position, I broke out of the stare down and headed towards my mirror again. I slid the hairdryer out of the drawer it was hidden in, plugging it into the wall. With this, I could drown out his speech _and_ dry my hair. Two in one.

But before I could, he spoke again, making me drop the dryer onto the desk.

"Is that an empty threat, Era? Or a flat out lie?" From the mirror, he was still standing in the same spot, shoulders hunched forward as he stared at the wall. At the place I used to be. Turning, our eyes met in the mirror. "You're angry."

I gripped the edge of the desk, turning down to break the gaze. "I'm not angry. I'm just…"

"Furious. Don't worry, I get that." He paused, thinking something over. It was quiet until he spoke again. "Yell at me."

Did he just… ask me to yell at him? Eyes wide, I turned slowly to face him, not surprised to see him looking bored. He gave an exaggerated sigh, groaning as he pushed his soaking bangs to the side. "Come on, Era. I don't have all day. Yell at me."

I looked as confused as I felt. "Yell at you? Why in the world would-"

"Because you're angry with me."

"I told you, I'm not angry."

"Really? Then how do you feel right now?"

I gazed to the mirror, watching my reflection instead of Killua. I hated how silent it was when nobody spoke. "I feel fine. Kind of tired, but fine."

"Oh, we're still lying to each other? I thought we were past that." Judging from the tone of his voice, I assumed that he was smug. "Stop being lame."

"But I'm not angry."

I heard him groan again, and looking up, I saw him march over, staring hard down at me. "You are such a bad liar that it's disgusting."

I didn't say anything else. Instead, I plugged in the dryer with shaking hands, turning the heat and intensity to the highest level that they could. Ignoring his words, I went as far as turning the dryer on, drowning out Killua, his groans, and his anger as he slammed the door shut behind him.

Funny how he ended up being the one that was angry in the end.

* * *

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the lateness and length of the chapter (it's about 1K shorter than intended), but I felt like this would be a good ending spot. I got pretty bummed when I realized that the part I was excited to write just wouldn't fit in this chapter. **

**Anyways, I hope that this chapter answers a few things, like why Era's the way she is. Her family may be seen as completely dysfunctional, but she's perfectly fine with the independent bonds that the members have- just as she's perfectly fine with not getting too close with anyone. But man, it's a certain kind of hard to write Era fully frustrated. Passive-aggressive people are just challenges in general, but I don't think she would've just lashed out at him. **

**Reviews always appreciated! Poll's still open on my page as well. I'll hopefully update quicker next chapter!**


	7. Right Recipe

**Author's Note: Another terribly difficult chapter to write.  
eimyahj16: Thanks for all the reviews! A smile stuck to my face as I read them all.  
Guest: Oh man. You have no idea how much that means to me. ;w;  
SakuraPetals13: Thanks! Don't worry. The romance's coming, I promise. C:  
TheAnonymous: Thank you, and I think we're all Killua's fans. xD And thanks for finding those typos! I corrected them the day I read your review.  
**

* * *

Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised that Killua hadn't come by during my shift in almost a week.

Actually, none of my 'friends' had. I hadn't seen Gon, Leorio, nor Kurapika since last Friday, and Killua never stopped by again since our disagreement on Saturday. Not that I blamed him.

It was Friday again, and absolutely nothing eventful had happened in the past week. Nuly still hadn't called, texted, or communicated with me in any way. Killua, Gon, and the rest of them were slowly turning MIA just as my purple haired friend. Darin, let alone the rest of my family, hadn't called either, but that was to be expected.

And I felt lonely. There were only 10 minutes left until closing, marking the start of the weekend. But when you're alone and doing everything by yourself, it kind of makes it seem like it isn't worthwhile.

Wasn't that funny? Before all of this- before the Hunter Exam, before Nuly, before Yorknew, before Leorio, Kurapika, Gon, and before Killua, my life was just as it was now: Uneventful. I had gotten used to the change of the bustling of the city and the bustling of my friends. I had found myself yearning for their companionship.

I wasn't sure why I loved my lonely lifestyle of the past when I sat alone, trained with family members who didn't have names, ate alone, and sat in the darkness watching as my father worked.

Things had changed in a matter of weeks, and I knew that there was no going back to the quiet, bland life I once called home.

Finally standing, I hovered over the shelves of candy, skimming over the myriad of labels and flavors. Finding the stash of dark chocolate, I gingerly picked a bar up, deposited the correct amount of Jenny into the register, and touched the chocolate to my lips.

My mind jumped back to Killua shoving chocolate into my mouth. It was bittersweet, both the memory and the taste.

"Oh, so you do eat candy in your free time. That's surprising, actually."

Nearly having a heart attack, I literally jolted up from my position, successfully wiping a smudge of chocolate across my cheek. I hadn't even noticed the white-haired figure looming over me as he wandered into the store, head cocked to the side as he watched for my reaction.

"No, I was just hungry, and I get an employee's discount for working here," I fibbed, smearing the chocolate that had latched itself onto my face. Gazing at him through my lashes, I wondered what possessed him to come. He looked bored, same as always, as he maneuvered through the candy racks himself. At least he showed up, right?

"I see." Finding what he wanted, he plopped down a small, single box of candy drops onto the counter. "You should be closing shop right about now, right?"

The wall clock was nearly at 8pm when I gazed at it. In seconds, the little hand hit the 8, the clock chiming the appropriate number of times before fading into darkness. I didn't have to answer his question. On cue, I approached the front, casually flipping the sign to signal that the shop was closed. "You should get going, too."

"What? No way." He leaned back down, positioned in such a way that I could only make out the tips of his hair from where I was standing. Moving closer, pulling my hair band out as I did so, I realized that he was gathering a mass of small candy samples.

He was being quiet, so I followed suit, squatting to sit next to him. His presence had returned, and he stared hard at the candy as his fingers ran over the labels. A small pile was already on the counter, and an even smaller amount was on the floor in front of him.

Unsure of what to say, I kept my mouth shut. If we were going to pretend that nothing happened, then that would be okay with me. I didn't even want to discuss it in the first place, but he just insisted on following me back to my apartment. Creepy.

After a few seconds, Killua gathered the pile on the floor and combined it with the pile on the counter. Then he turned to look at me, then he turned to look at the clock. Ten after closing. At this time, I'd be right about home.

But before I could speak, Killua pulled on my wrist, roughly forcing me to sit in one of the stools that lined the counter. He sorted through the candy before shoving the box of candy drops in my direction.

I watched him with curious eyes. Exhaling, he looked in my direction once before taking the box back, tugging the lid off, and forcing a single candy drop into my hand. "Eat it."

I leaned back in my stool, finally finding it appropriate to speak. "...What? You have to pay for all this, you know." Our eyes found the candy at the same time.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just hold on. Shut up and eat it."

I picked up the candy drop with my other hand, rolling it in my palm with my fingers. It was bright red, a color obviously manufactured. "I'm pretty sure this is 99% sugar."

"So?"

I dropped my hand. "Why should I eat it? What I _should_ be doing is going home." 15 past closing.

He was quiet for a few seconds, his finger just barely brushing his chin. "Eat it."

"You still haven't given me a legitimate reason."

"Does it matter that much why I want you to eat it? Maybe I just _pity_ you for not being able to enjoy life's greatest gift. How about that, huh?" He was still staring at me, eyebrows arched and lips curved down. His features were always sharp, and looking into his eyes always made me feel smaller than I was.

Instead of replying, I continued to roll the candy drop between my fingers, finally biting down on the tip. It tasted like strawberries, but it wasn't as sweet as I'd thought it be. My 99% sugar claim was false.

Killua sighed in awe, hopping onto the stool next to me. "Considering that you're finishing it, I take it that it wasn't bad?"

"It wasn't bad, but saying it was good would be a stretch." Maybe I was lying, but it wouldn't be true if I said that I wasn't just a bit ticked off with him.

Groaning, he merely rolled his eyes as he prodded the mass of candy. He retrieved a thin sliver of hard candy, wrapped in bright green foliage. His gaze went from the candy to me before he dropped it in my fingers.

The label read that this one was the flavor of green apple. Motioning for me to eat it, Killua leaned forward, gaze not breaking from the candy as I sucked on it. The flavor immediately exploded in my mouth, and I dare say that it was… good.

My shock must've shown clear on my face since Killua looked smug as he spoke. "Good, huh? See, since you work at a candy store, there's crap candy and good candy. While I'm guilty of liking any and all things sugary, you obviously don't." He flipped over another one of the slivers of hard candy in his hands, reading the label on the back. "...But I know what's good and what's not. You have to know what to look for."

And it continued. We spent almost thirty minutes more in the closed shop, silently exchanging candy as I taste tested them. It was strange. I had worked in that candy shop for over a month, yet I had never felt the need to sample the inventory. My assumption that all candy was gross fell through tonight.

The clock chimed 8:45 just as I finished the last piece. It wasn't even late, but I could feel the fatigue.

"This also… is an apology, I guess," Killua mumbled, quiet enough that I had to lean in to hear. He fiddled with a chocolate bar wrapper in his fingers, gaze locked on it as he spoke. I wasn't surprised that he looked slightly flustered. Killua Zoldyck was apologizing? That's actually pretty sweet. "Not that it was my fault that you wouldn't stay and listen, but…" Scratch that. Still annoying. "I made you angry, and that was pretty freaking weird."

My mouth still tasted sweet. I had probably engulfed more candy in the past hour than in the past year. Sure, Killua wasn't exactly the sweetest guy or the most down to earth, but an apology was an apology.

"I was just, like, I dunno. I don't regret telling you about Nen or anything, but it's not something I can teach. There are two ways to do it: Deliberately and aggressively. I learned through force, the aggressive way," he continued. Feet turned towards him, I leaned forward, just grateful to hear his explanation. "Not that I'm saying that teaching you would be impossible, but… It would be difficult. I guess I could always just send my own Nen at you, but that's pretty dangerous, and you could die."

"I see."

He lifted his gaze, meeting my own eyes. "Wanna test death?"

My scoff was audible. "With someone as _unskilled_ as you? No thanks."

Things were slowly going back to the way they swung in the past. Maybe I had overreacted- I knew I had, but I had reasons to, right?

He tapped his fingers on the counter, staring at the surface, before jumping off the stool and shoving his hands into his pockets. "Well, it's late. I'll walk you home."

He wasn't asking. Shrugging, I jumped off, but not before holding my hand out. "Pay up."

* * *

I didn't mind that it was silent as Killua walked me home. It gave me time to think, not that there was much I was confused about. _I liked Killua._ It was probably dumb, but I had a tiny crush, and I wasn't going to question it.

Either way, nothing much would change. I was perfectly fine with our occasional quarrel and the silences. Our relationship was far from being simple, but it wasn't complicated, either. I only grew more conscious of his presence. I wouldn't stumble over my words or blush or stammer. No. I wouldn't play that part.

Key in hand, I unlocked the door. Killua lingered near the entrance as I entered, throwing my bag onto my bed. I observed my face in the mirror, noting the frizzled hair, before leaning on the drawer and facing Killua. "Uh, thanks."

"Yeah."

Another silence. Staring at an uninteresting point on the floor, I sighed. "...And I'm sorry, too. I don't think I would've been the one to apologize first."

"Because you're stubborn, right?" The slight curl of his lips indicated that he was teasing.

"Totally stubborn."

Another silence. I pushed myself off the dresser, trotting to the bed to remove the contents of my bag. Fulfilling Killua's wishes, I had bought a pack of the slivers of hard candy. "See you soon." My voice was quiet since I was unsure of what to say. I wasn't even sure when I'd see him again since he was unpredictable that way.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." He nodded, hand hovering over the door knob. He began to close it, but not before stopping once, his features covered by the door. "Oh, and Era?"

"Yeah?"

"Night."

* * *

My Dad was a traditional man. He was pretty rough looking with his square shaped jawline and untamed stubble that ran from his sideburns to his chin. It was the complete opposite of my mother and grandparents, all of whom were clean cut and always in the know. The difference between the Hunters in my family and my father, the blacksmith, was obvious.

So, it didn't come as a surprise when the letter I received was from my Dad, dated just a few days back.

_Era,_

_How has Yorknew been? I can't believe that you're completely on your own now… but you are a Hunter, just as your mother was and just as her parents. I'm proud of you, love._

The letter, adorned with his scraggly, all caps writing, had the faintest scent of his sweat mixed with the smoke of his workshop. I felt nostalgic. The fact that my Dad said he was proud of me- something he rarely said- made something click for me. Before wanting to be a Hunter, I wanted to be a blacksmith. As a child, I would nag him that one day, I would surpass him. It always made me feel guilty to know that my wish fell through.

_I do wish that you would have come home in person after you completed your exam. But I know that you're growing up, and as such, our quaint home isn't enough. You're growing out of it, just as your mother had._

_Your mother's parents are doing well, but they've decided to move out of the house. They decided to go to the small retirement home an hour's walk away._

Something else stung me. I imagined my father, a gruff man, leaning over a small table as he wrote this. He was probably alone. My grandparents and Darin wouldn't have been near him.

_Did Darin tell you, love? He's going to try and become a Hunter, too._

...Dad was going to be alone. My grandparents were leaving, and Darin was going to the Hunter Exam. He would be alone.

_You made it on your third attempt, so I have no doubts that one day, he will, too. Love, be sure to visit soon. I'm not sure when you will, but please come by. I've enclosed something special for you since your birthday's soon. Take care, Era._

_Love, Dad_

Reaching into the box that the envelope was taped on, I gasped as I realized that he had included a metal chain, a gleaming piece of obsidian strung through.

Unable to keep the smile off, I hooked the necklace over myself.

* * *

In two weeks, I would be leaving Yorknew.

I began waving for a taxi to stop before changing my mind. I could walk the way home.

It had been too long since I visited home. My birthday was in two weeks, conveniently on the day that I was scheduled to arrive home. I would visit and stay there for a few days. Darin would probably be training for his exam, and Dad no doubt would be constructing more weapons.

The city was alive. I passed a group of teenagers around my age as they giggled and chatted with one another. Two children rushed passed me, one of them pulling the other forward.

I was able to make quieter, smaller chatter from the inside of the building I was nearing. The double doors were open, and various people left in groups. They looked pretty sophisticated; All but a handful were wearing suits and ties or regal black and white dresses.

Imagine my surprise when I spotted Leorio exiting, soon followed by the troubling pair.

Killua and I were supposed to be on good terms, so I wasn't sure why I forced myself to speed up and walk past, nearly bumping into a different person who was exiting the building.

"Pardon me," he hissed, his formal words not matching the angry tone of voice he carried. Pushing past me, he turned the corner.

But _of course_, the tiny scene was enough for Killua to notice I was there.

"Yo, Era!"

My shoulders hunched as I turned to face my approaching friend, followed by both Gon and Leorio. I tried to make myself look surprised, though Killua probably knew the truth. "You look, uh, nice," I commented, eyes widening at how formal he looked before meeting his gaze. His bangs were pushed to the side, yet still seemed messy, and the white suit looked like it cost a fortune. Gon had an identical suit in black, his tie a bright green. Leorio looked the same as he always did, business suit and all. "You guys, too."

While Gon beamed and Leorio shrugged off my comment, Killua merely smirked and tilted his head towards me. "I can't say the same for you."

Ouch. Cold.

"I was only picking something up, not going to a fancy… whatever," I defended, sighing as I held up the single ticket. He was right, though. My shorts that were once white had turned gray, stained with a few unnoticeable other colors. Then I had on a simple orange t-shirt that I'd had since I was 12.

"It was a funeral," Leorio remarked. Only then did I realize that the blonde addition wasn't present. As if he knew what I was thinking, he quickly added in, "One of Kurapika's friends. You wouldn't know them."

Right. Of course not. I barely knew the person I was talking to right now, anyways.

"What? Lritis? Is that a real place?" Killua commented, snatching the tickets out of my hands. "It doesn't sound real. I've never heard of it."

I snatched back what was mine, sticking my tongue out. "It's pronounced _Ly-ree-tis_. And yes, it's a real place. It's my hometown." He was still staring at me, unamused. "I'm heading back for… I mean, to see my Dad," I quickly added.

Gon decided to jump into the conversation, head cocked to the side. "Really? You're going back?"

I blinked. "Why do you sound so surprised…?"

Gon and Killua exchanged looked, the latter not looking impressed. "We thought you'd stay in Yorknew for your… you know. Your birthday."

"...How do you know it's my birthday soon?"

Killua sent me one of those '_doh'_ looks before responding. "You're a Hunter. You have a birthday. You don't know how easy it is to find information through an internet search."

"You guys… looked me up on the internet? That's so _creepy,_" I commented, internally shuddering. My eyes washed over the three boys, wondering what would come up if I searched their names. I couldn't imagine finding much Leorio, but I wouldn't be surprised if pages and pages came up with details of the younger two.

Killua shrugged, stepping back to avoid getting hit by someone exiting with a flailing child. The thought of Killua getting socked in the nose by a baby made me smile. "We had to make sure you weren't a threat. You know, make sure you weren't just… playing dumb?"

"Playing… playing dumb!? Are you kidding me?!" Truth be told, I felt pretty offended. It wasn't exactly my fault that I didn't know Nen. Besides, I couldn't learn it without Nuly. ...Right? And they thought I was dumb because of it? That was… pretty aggravating.

"Yeah, yeah." Killua waved it off. "But whatever. That's in the past, isn't it?"

Right.

* * *

As much as Killua ticked me off, he was still my friend, so it shouldn't have been strange for me to walk around town with them, right? Wrong. I was only walking next to Leorio, a few steps behind Gon and Killua, because the Zoldyck forced me to. Besides, I looked completely wrong next to them. They were all in nice dress suits while I wore a shirt I had when I was 12.

"You know, you didn't actually have to come. I highly doubt Killua would've really ransacked your apartment," Leorio offered, probably trying to make small chat. My eyes found his face, only to see him staring ahead at the pair in front of us. "...Actually, he might have."

I nodded, actually believing that he would. "I know." Truth be told, I wouldn't have really minded. Even if he had burst into my apartment, there was nothing there besides me. Plus he wouldn't have really taken anything. "...But if I'm not here, who's to stop you guys from destroying the city?"

Now that I looked at them all, Kurapika was probably the most mature though he wasn't the oldest. Killua and Gon, side by side, still reminded me of kids even if they were both older than I was. According to Killua, they all had known each other for a handful of years. They had all entered the Hunter Exam, and even though Killua failed that first time, he was definitely one of the strongest of their group at the time.

"Era?"

And then there was me. I wasn't sure how friendship that strong was. I trusted Nuly with my life, yeah, but we hadn't known each other for very long. I had known Killua and company for an even shorter amount of time, so was it crazy that I felt safe around them?

"Era."

Actually, no. Everything was crazy. The fact that I was even out here, walking with three Professional Hunters in the middle of Yorknew, was an insane fact by itself.

"Eraaaaaa."

I hadn't realized I had stopped walking until I realized that Killua was poking my cheek nonstop. "Stop it." I sighed, pulling my head away from him.

"I was trying to get your attention."

"I know."

"You weren't listening to me."

"I know."

Killua continued to observe me. Gon and Leorio had long since passed us, but both had turned around from their positions to stare at us. Killua merely shook his head towards them to usher them to go on without us. "Are you still going back to your house on your birthday?"

"Well yeah. Why wouldn't I?"

I wondered how weird the situation must have looked. Compared to Killua, I looked dirt poor. Compared to him though, that probably wasn't far from the truth.

He was still staring, blank expression on his face before he began to walk. I fell in step next to him. "You should stay in Yorknew."

"But I've already bought the ticket."

"...You have a Hunter License. You can get another ticket another time."

I wasn't sure why he was making a fuss over it. Sure, that was true, but it had been forever and a day since I'd seen my father. Just thinking of my Dad shot a pain to my heart. I missed him. "Why do you want me to stay so badly?"

Then Killua stopped walking in the middle of the sidewalk. People pushed past us as he maneuvered us both to the side. He was close; The side of his arm was pressed against my own. "Why do you want to go so badly?" he shot back.

"I haven't seen my Dad in over a month." I was looking ahead at all the people pushing by, running from one place to the next, instead of at his face. But his eyes were on me. I could tell. "Isn't that a good enough reason?"

"Mm…" When I finally turned towards him, he tore his gaze away from my face and looked as if he was in intense concentration. "No."

"Don't you ever want to see your family?"

"My family's insane."

"Then you don't understand."

It was only after I retorted that I realized how awful of a thing that was to say.

"Wait, no, Killua, I didn't-" I stumbled over my words, trying to conjure up a good enough explanation. I didn't mean it. The look on his face, pure anger, shocked me more than it scared me.

Wrapping a hand around my wrist, he roughly pulled me forward, tugging me behind him as he led me to a narrow alley between two buildings. It was quieter here; I could hardly hear the bustling of the city.

Then Killua turned towards me. "Say that again."

"What?"

"That I don't understand."

I shook my head, refusing to meet his gaze. "No. It was a bad thing to say, and I wasn't thinking straight, and I regret saying it, and…"

"There's Alluka and Gon." I could hear his footsteps approaching just before his hand came out of the shadows, forcing me to look at him. "There's Leorio and Kurapika and Zushi." His hold on my jaw was strict, but not enough for me to wince in pain. "And there's you. Tell me that I don't understand what family's like because I'm sure as hell that I know what it's like to care for someone even if it's not my crazy ass mom."

"I get it." His grip loosened but only for a split second. It was quiet and dark, the only sound and light coming from the city a few feet away. "I get it." My voice was quieter the second time.

I wasn't sure what was going to happen next. His eyes were still staring into mine, and it was more uncomfortable than anything. Letting out a long sigh, Killua dropped his hand from me, tracing a finger on my jawline. "You don't get anything."

In another second, he had already stepped back, facing the city so his back was towards me. It was cold where his fingers were.

"We should probably head back. Gon and Leorio are probably looking for us," I offered, unsure of what else to say. What was there? I couldn't say that it felt exhilarating for him to be that close. I couldn't tell him to stay. I wasn't playing that role.

"I highly doubt that," the Zoldyck mumbled back, quiet enough that I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hear. Then louder: "Alright, let's find them."

And things were back to normal.

* * *

"Gon, I really don't understand why you're taking me to the airport. My flight doesn't leave for two weeks. Are you really that excited for me to go?"

A frown was on Gon's face as he replied. "No. You really don't know why I'm taking you?"

After regrouping with Gon and Leorio, I noticed that Gon was furiously texting someone on his phone. It hadn't been five minutes after we reunited that he had announced that he was heading to the airport and that I was to accompany him.

Gon looked excited for a reason I didn't know. Then again, he always looked excited. It was rare for him not to have a smile on his face or a reason to grin. I had trouble figuring out if Killua and Gon were more like polar opposites or complete twins. Recently, after seeing them together, I'd been leaning towards the latter.

"No. It's not everyday that we're alone without Killua, so you understand why I'm curious, right?"

"Not really."

His comment sent us spiraling down into silence, but I didn't mind. The airport was just up ahead, and judging from the mass of people exiting, a plane had just landed. Or maybe one was just about to take off?

The closer we got, the faster Gon began to walk. I had to jog just to keep up with him.

"I think… I think they'll be waiting by the entrance. Come on, Era!" He pulled on my wrist, his touch a lot more gentle and comforting than Killua's had ever been.

"Who-"

My voice was cut off as soon as I caught sight of them. Her back was turned, but I knew those bony shoulders anywhere. It was slow as she turned towards us, hand covering her sunhat to keep it from flying off.

Those eyes only confirmed it.

"Era, Gon. Hey!"

Nuly had returned.

* * *

**Author's Note: Things will be happening very soon. Get ready for a lot of frustration. (;**


End file.
